ROME (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Strait of Messina Bridge has officially entered the operational phase. The CIPESS (Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning and Sustainable Development) has approved the Final Design of the Bridge — which will have the longest suspended span in the world — along with a series of strategic complementary works important for the surrounding area.
The CIPESS resolution follows the signing of the Additional Act to the Contract between the concession company Stretto di Messina and the General Contractor Eurolink, led by Webuild, with a total value of €10.6 billion. This Additional Act will become effective upon publication of the CIPESS resolution in the Official Gazette.
The construction of the Strait of Messina Bridge — championed with determination by the concession company Stretto di Messina — will be carried out by Webuild, a global leader in the construction of large and complex infrastructure projects (including the Genoa San Giorgio Bridge and the Second and Third Bosphorus Bridges), alongside key industry players such as Spain’s Sacyr Group (already a Webuild partner on the Panama Canal expansion project); Japan’s IHI (builder of the Akashi Bridge in Japan, the Osman Gazi Bridge in Turkey, and the Danube Bridge in Braila, Romania, with Webuild); and other Italian partners within Eurolink, including Condotte and Itinera.
The design team includes some of the world’s most specialized companies in the field of suspension bridges, including COWI (Denmark), an engineering firm with over 90 years of experience and behind projects such as the Çanakkale Bridge in Turkey and the Great Belt Bridge in Denmark.
The project includes the construction of a bridge with a total length of 3,666 metres, and a central suspended span of 3,300 metres, making it the world’s longest single-span suspension bridge. The deck, about 60 meters wide, will feature three traffic lanes in each direction, two railway tracks, and two service lanes — providing a stable, fast, and efficient connection between mainland Italy and Sicily for more than 5 million residents. The bridge will support up to 200 trains per day and 6,000 vehicles per hour, operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Its 399-metre-high steel towers and a suspension system with cables measuring 1.26 metres in diameter and a total length of 5,320 metres represent an engineering milestone. The bridge is designed to withstand seismic events and extreme winds, equipped with smart monitoring systems to ensure safety and predictive maintenance.
A key part of the project is the construction of complementary infrastructure on both sides of the Strait, including over 40 kilometers of new roads and railways.
In addition to the bridge itself, the plan includes functional and non-functional connecting works (including three railway stations in Messina and a business hub in Calabria), as well as environmental, territorial, and social mitigation and compensation works. In Calabria, road connections will cover about 10 kilometres, with 2.7 kilometres of railway lines designed to connect both to the existing Tyrrhenian rail line and to the future high-speed/high-capacity Salerno-Reggio Calabria line. In Piale, within the Municipality of Villa San Giovanni, a new business centre will be developed — a multifunctional complex that will host facilities for bridge operations and services such as shops, restaurants, and a convention centre.
In Sicily, 10.4 kilometres of roads and 17.5 kilometres of railways will be built. The rail section is designed to link up with the existing regional network — Messina-Catania and Messina-Palermo lines. Among the major works, three new railway stations are planned in the city of Messina (Papardo, Annunziata, and Europa) to enhance urban transport and connect the bridge to universities, hospitals, and the city center.
All of these developments will profoundly transform mobility in the two regions while protecting the environment. Around 12 million cubic metres of excavated material in Sicily and about 4.5 million in Calabria will be reused for road embankments, environmental restoration, and shoreline replenishment along the Tyrrhenian coast.
The bridge’s deck will be 72 metres above sea level, spanning 600 metres. The navigable clearance will reach 70 metres even under full traffic load (with two passenger trains crossing simultaneously), meeting or exceeding international maritime standards.
The Strait Bridge is a cornerstone of a broader infrastructure investment plan already underway to equip Southern Italy with modern and sustainable infrastructure, enhancing its connections with the rest of the country and Europe. The project is part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor of the TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Network) and will help strengthen the logistical, economic, and social integration of Southern Italy, reinforcing its strategic role in the European and Mediterranean context.
“Today, Italy once again demonstrates its ability to unite behind a transformative mega-project for the entire country. The approval of the Strait of Messina Bridge project by CIPESS marks the beginning of a new era of vision, courage, and confidence in the capabilities of Italian industry and the entire infrastructure sector,” said Pietro Salini, CEO of Webuild, following the CIPESS green light for the bridge — the world’s longest suspended span — and its vast network of complementary works to enhance mobility between Sicily and the rest of Italy.
“We are especially proud to be part of this endeavor, strongly supported by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the Italian Government, and actively promoted by the concession company Stretto di Messina, as leader of the general contractor Eurolink. We are working alongside the best global engineering expertise and a broad Italian supply chain of excellence from South to North,” added Salini. “The bridge will launch a widespread infrastructure project, with many construction sites operating simultaneously — a driving force for growth, employment, and legality throughout Southern Italy.”
-Photo: Webuild Press Office
(ITALPRESS).
