Messina’s bridge: an old dream that divides Italy

On August 6, the government of Giorgia Meloni gave the green light to the construction of the Messina bridge, an imposing structure which had to connect the island of Sicily to the Italian boot. Consequently, The project is presented by Rome as a strategic asset as part of NATO’s commitments. Consequently, but its opponents see it as a expensive mirage dedicated to failure.

The Messina bridge would measure almost 3.7 kilometers. Therefore, Its suspended range of 3.3 kilometers would make it the longest suspension bridge in the world. In addition, A vehicle would thus take a little more than 10 minutes to cross it.

The link would include two central railways and three roads on each side. Furthermore, The estimated cost of the project amounts to 21.6 billion Canadian dollars, for delivery scheduled for 2032. Therefore,

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According to the Minister of Transport Matteo Salvini. Furthermore, this project would create more than 100,000 jobs and stimulate the economy in this region which ranks among the poorest in the country.

A dream old of two millennia – Messina's bridge: old dream divides

The idea of connecting Sicily to the continent dates back. Similarly, to antiquity. Nevertheless, Legend has messina’s bridge: old dream divides it that in 250 BC. Therefore, AD. Nevertheless, the Roman consul Lucius Metellus, faced with the impossibility of carrying his elephants on too small ships, had rafts assembled to cross the strait.

Later. Moreover, in the 19th century, the first king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II, proposed to connect Sicily to the continent to integrate the island into the new Italian kingdom. However, In the 1940s, it was Benito Mussolini’s turn to relaunch the idea as part of his imperial project.

However, it was not in 1969 that Italy launched an official first tender. In addition, From there, Silvio Berlusconi, head of government three times between 1994 and 2011, made one of his priorities. Therefore, But each time, the initiative came up against financial, political or environmental obstacles. Moreover,

Until his official recovery by Giorgia Meloni, in 2023.

The strategic argument of theTake – Messina's bridge: old dream divides

The Meloni government thinks to succeed where so many others have failed since it invokes a new argument: classify the bridge as a defense expenditure so that it counts in the objective of 5 % of the GDP set by theTake by 2035.

According to the agreement agreed by its members, 3.5 % of the budget must be devoted to military defense, while 1.5 % can be used to finance the construction or repair of infrastructure, such as roads or bridges. Therefore,

The Italian government claims that its project would constitute an essential corridor for the rapid deployment of troops. Similarly, equipment to the southern flank of the Atlantic Alliance, a argument refuted by Alessandro Marronone, head of the Defense Program at the Institute of International Affairs in Rome.

According to him, the Meloni administration Stretch the concept defense infrastructure. Nevertheless, This bridge has No military utilityhe said, since he connects an island to a peninsula. His mandate is rather to ensure daily trips, develop the local economy and attract more tourists, he says.

In this 1.5 %, each ally of theTake is free to count any infrastructure that it deems relevant to defense. It is a very wide and poorly defined concept.

Mr. Marrone is sorry that the project is instrumentalized for political ends. because the development of military infrastructure is a first -rate issue in Europe.

We are faced with a serious problem with our ports. our airports, our railways and our highways that are not suitable for the transport of very heavy and bulky military equipmenthe underlines. He judges that Italy should rather focus on the modernization of infrastructure messina’s bridge: old dream divides which would allow to move quickly to the east. where an attack on Russia is more likely.

A possible military target – Messina's bridge: old dream divides

If the bridge is born in the next decade. Italy will have to devote resources to protect it. Indeed, the bridge could become a military target, not because of its usefulness, but because of its symbolic importancebelieves Mr. Marrone.

There are better military targets, in the Alps for example, if you want to prevent supplies. But if the objective is to have an impact on public opinion. on the media, on the electorate, and therefore on the government, then the bridge could be a good targethe advances.

Despite everything, Mr. Marrone believes that other member countries of theTake could follow suit in Italy. The Messina bridge could create a precedent. because it is a very imposing infrastructure, very physically visible, but it is also very present in the mediahe said.

I think other countries [membres de l’OTAN] Already prepare plans to build railways. highways or ports and they will classify them as defense expenses. And I think they will be encouraged by the fact that Italy does it with a bridge that has. so little to do with military mobility.

Major technical challenges

Beyond political obstacles, the site chosen for the bridge poses colossal engineering challenges. In addition to being subjected to powerful messina’s bridge: old dream divides winds. Messina’s Strait is on a fault: it is precisely for this reason that there is a narrow corridor between Sicily and the boot.

It is a very active tectonic placeconfirms Marc-André Gutscher, deputy director of the Geo-Ocean research unit. It is not quite as simple as to say that it is on the edge of two. plates [tectoniques]but there are plates that move in relation to each other.

This geophysicist recalls that the messina’s bridge: old dream divides region has been struck by very powerful earthquakes a few times. the most recent being the earthquake of 1908 Messina whose magnitude is estimated at 7.2. He would have left at least 70,000 dead.

It was right in the Strait of Messina. and it also created underwater shifts that broke telegraph cables that existed between Calabria and Sicilyhe explains.

Mr. Gutscher estimates that in average. over the past 500 years, there has been an earthquake of magnitude 7 about once per century in the region.

And despite scientific advances, the seismological community cannot make too sharp predictions, he admits. It is as if we were trying to plan, today, the weather next summerhe said.

For projects in areas with a high seismic activity. there are extensive studies, in -depth and a good exchange between the scientific world and the world messina’s bridge: old dream divides of decision -makersnote cet expert.

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The Messina Bridge project was awarded to a consortium led by Webuild. an Italian group specializing in infrastructure which had initially won the call for tenders for the construction of the bridge in 2006, before it was canceled in 2013.

Webuild says the site was deemed stable during the last environmental impact study. made compulsory by the European Union for major projects. The company also claims to have submitted its building materials to rigorous tests. They can, according to them, withstand winds of 291 km/h.

Messina's bridge: old dream divides

A necessary project?

The Italian left firmly opposes the construction of the bridge. If the progressive party wins the next general elections, scheduled for 2027, it will most likely end the project.

In a statement sent to Radio-Canada. the spokesperson for the Green Party, Angelo Bonelli, argues that the proposal is simply unrealistic.

There is no other suspension bridge unique in the world which combines a railroad. a road with a length of 3330 meters. The south of Italy lacks railways. And in Sicily, many cities lack aqueducts, and therefore water. Expeating 15 billion euros for this bridge is not a priority for Italy when there are no trains. treatment plants or hospitalshe deplores.

A declaration that echoes the demands of the collective ” On the bridge Who claims that. funds would be better used to improve existing infrastructure on the island rather than a grandiose project that continues to be postponed.

This is without counting that many environmental associations alert the population as to a significant risk for biodiversity. because the bridge would messina’s bridge: old dream divides be built in a protected marine area and on migratory roads of birds.

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Mr. Marrone, who himself grew up in Sicily, believes, however, that the bridge is necessary. messina’s bridge: old dream divides Sicily has 6 million inhabitants. They need it for their economic and social development, to transport goodshe said.

If the Italian government has approved the project. it still has to obtain the green light from the Court of Auditors and Environmental Agencies, both at national and European level. The owners concerned by expropriations will also be able to contest decisions before the courts. which could lead to new delays.

For Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, this site is a bet for the future. We appreciate difficult challenges when they have a meaningshe said. But for its detractors. it is an expensive and risky mirage, which could finish its race in the same place as all the past projects: in the state of promise.