The world's longest suspended bridge may soon link the island of Sicily in Italy with the mainland

The idea of building a bridge between the island of Sicily with the mainland is not new for the Italian planners. However, the decades-long planning process for the massive engineering project was abandoned in 2013.

The Messina Strait Company was granted the building contract back in 2009. The planned corridor would have connected Messina, on the island of Sicily, to the mainland area of Calabria. When former prime minister Mario Monti shut down the building firm as part of a series of austerity measures in 2013, the plans were cancelled.

As for now, Giorgia Meloni, Italy's prime minister, aims to approach the European Union for funding assistance with the multibillion euro plan. On the other hand, the construction of a suspension bridge between Sicily to the mainland is not favored by everyone.

Proponents say that the link would stimulate the island's sluggish economy and narrow the wealth gap between the north and the south of the nation. Those in favor also point out that it will facilitate the transportation of commodities from Suez Canal-bound cargo ships to railroads in Sicily. This would allow them to bypass costly and time-consuming transoceanic journeys and be delivered to the country's northern regions more rapidly. Furthermore, ferry services that transport vehicles, locomotives, and trailers over the Strait of Messina would see less demand with improved rail and road connectivity.

However, some argue that building such a massive bridge in a seismically active region is both inefficient and dangerous. The threat to local ecosystems and the landscape's visual value has also been raised as concerns by environmentalists.

As Meloni brought back the firm responsible for supervising the building of the suspension bridge over the Strait of Messina, the project was also announced by Italy's infrastructure minister and League coalition party leader, Matteo Salvini. "This is the government and legislature that have the ambition to lay the first stone and start building this blessed project," commented Salvini.

With a centre span of almost 3 kilometres, the planned road and train link would be the longest suspension bridge ever built. It's estimated that if the project goes through, it would cost several billion euros, but Meloni has promised to approach the European Union for funding. The proposal will soon be taken to Brussels for discussion.

As Salvini stated, the building process will begin in two years and take around five years to finish. “Starting work on the construction of the Strait Bridge is one of my goals. “The transshipment of ferries, in addition to pollution and time wasting, costs people more in a year than it would cost to build the bridge,” he concluded.