World’s longest suspension bridge is permitted to attach Sicily to Italy

A bridge that may be the world’s longest suspension bridge was permitted on Wednesday.

The Strait of Messina Bridge would join the island of Sicily to the mainland of Italy in a $15.5 billion undertaking stretching over 2 miles, in keeping with The Related Press (AP).

The bridge has been a long-discussed undertaking because it was first proposed in 1969.

It was permitted and canceled a number of occasions till 2023, when Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s administration revived the proposal.

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The idea of constructing a bridge connecting the Italian mainland with Sicily supposedly dates again to Historic Rome, when the Romans tried to move 100 elephants captured throughout the Battle of Panormus in 250 BC. Others imagine the concept of the bridge pertains to Homer’s “Odyssey,” citing Scylla and Charybdis.

The Strait of Messina would have the capability to hold 6,000 vehicles an hour and 200 trains a day, with 4 lanes of site visitors bordered by a double-track railway, AP reported. 

Italy has permitted a Strait of Messina Bridge connecting Sicily to the mainland. (iStock)

Opponents of the bridge cite environmental, security and even mafia issues. 

The Royal United Companies Institute for Defence and Safety Research (RUSI) printed an evaluation by Anna Sergi, a sociologist and skilled in felony legislation, who deemed the bridge “unnecessary.”

Sergi warned the undertaking can be “vulnerable to global mafia appetites,” noting that comparable public works have traditionally been co-opted by organized crime.

“The attraction of large-scale works for the corrupt and the mafia is that the realization and social utility of the work are of marginal interest,” she stated.

“The more the realization is diluted over time, the more technical difficulties produce delays, the more there are new investments, or changes to the original project, the malign actors will be able to fill their pockets,” wrote Segi.

Opponents of the bridge cite environmental, security and mafia issues.  (Valeria Ferraro/Anadolu through Getty Pictures)

Italian President Sergio Mattarella reiterated the undertaking would nonetheless be topic to anti-mafia laws that applies to all large-scale infrastructure initiatives, in keeping with AP.

Others share issues about earthquakes triggered by the Messina fault, which separates Sicily from mainland Italy; it precipitated a lethal quake in 1908.

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WeBuild, an Italian infrastructure group, will spearhead the undertaking, noting that suspension bridges are much less more likely to cave to seismic forces.

The group cited suspension bridges in-built Japan, Turkey and California – that are seismically lively areas.

The Canakkale Bridge, pictured, in northwestern Turkey is the longest suspension bridge. (iStock)

The Canakkale Bridge in northwestern Turkey is the longest suspension bridge, stretching over a mile, constructed by WeBuild.

Work on the bridge is predicted to start out on the finish of the summer time — with development starting to start out in early 2026, in keeping with AP.

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The Related Press contributed reporting.