The Strait of Messina Bridge project, with six lanes and two tracks, has been approved: "Open by 2033."

CIPESS has given the green light to the Strait of Messina Bridge project. The Ministry of Transport (MIT) has announced the news.

The project, at the centre of a long process marked by delays and pending multi-million dollar lawsuits, will be entirely financed with public funds, for a total value of 13.532 billion .

The Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning and Sustainable Development, chaired by the Prime Minister, today approved the final project, which includes "comprehensive documentation presented by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport."

"It will be the longest single-span bridge in the world. Such infrastructure is an accelerator of development," said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, during the CIPESS meeting. Salvini also thanked those who had previously believed in the Calabria-Sicily link, citing Silvio Berlusconi among others.

The numbers of the work

«Never in the long history of the project has such an advanced approval phase been reached», the ministry then underlined, recalling that «the Bridge is a world-record engineering masterpiece», with a single span over 3 kilometres long and over 60 metres wide, which will accommodate 6 road lanes and two railway tracks, with towers almost 400 metres high .

The works and the opening

Construction and testing are expected to take six and a half years (it is expected to start in September-October, with the first crossing in 2032-2033) . The bridge will then be open to train and car traffic 24/7, 365 days a year, "ensuring a more efficient, safe and modern connection system between Sicily, Calabria and the rest of the continent", with a considerable reduction in crossing times.

Travel times

"Trains currently take between 120 and 180 minutes, but that will drop to 15 minutes. By road, it will depend on the season, but the average journey time of 70 to 100 minutes will be reduced to 10 minutes. This will result in enormous environmental savings thanks to the reduction in CO2 emissions," Salvini explained at a press conference, "excited" after the project was approved.

Prices for crossing

"To date, net of the inflation adjustment at the date the bridge enters into operation, the base fare for cars is estimated to be less than 10 euros , with significant reductions for frequent journeys," explains a note from the Stretto di Messina company. "The exact fares will be defined closer to the bridge's opening to traffic, but the proposed fare plan is significantly lower than the current crossing costs ."

Jobs

There will also be "the Strait metro with three metro stops on the Messina side that will connect passengers," Salvini added, underlining that companies from all over Italy will work on the project and that "the first region to involve companies will be Lombardy."

"120,000" jobs are estimated , both direct and indirect. And the construction chain will be "impervious" to mafia infiltration , Salvini assured, and will be monitored "constantly, 24/7." The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the allure of the project, "the longest single-span bridge in the world," and expressed his confidence that it will be "an accelerator of development and part of the solution to the problems of southern Italy if the high-speed rail line currently being completed between Salerno and Reggio Calabria is completed."

The announced appeals

But a barrage of appeals is already looming over the project. The opposition, environmental groups, and the Messina citizens' committee "Instead of the Bridge" reiterate their opposition, and the committee, in particular, explains that appeals can "finally" begin today. Giusy Camini, mayor of Villa San Giovanni, the municipality on the Calabrian side of the Strait , also raised the alarm: "We have always expressed opposition to this approved final project. We believe that the study phase we requested should have been brought forward because only this would have given the community peace of mind. The survival of the city of Villa San Giovanni is at risk due to a construction site that impacts the entire municipal territory, dividing it in two, a construction site for which the city is currently not prepared . The protection of the city comes first."

The Prime Minister

Giorgia Meloni , for her part, declared that «today's CIPES meeting marks a fundamental stage in the action of this government», in fact for the Prime Minister it is «almost superfluous to say» that the Bridge over the Strait of Messina is «an imposing and cutting-edge project, strategic for the development of the entire nation, an investment in the present and future of Italy», which will thus be «more connected, competitive and cohesive» .

(Unioneonline/L)