Strait of Messina Bridge
Strait of Messina Bridge Ponte sullo stretto di Messina | |
|---|---|
An artist's impression of the planned bridge from the Calabrian coast | |
| Coordinates | 38°14′51″N 15°38′21″E / 38.24750°N 15.63917°E |
| Carries | Six lanes and two emergency lanes; two rail tracks and two railway sidewalks. |
| Crosses | Strait of Messina |
| Locale | Messina and Villa San Giovanni |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Suspension bridge |
| Total length | 3,666 metres (12,028 ft) |
| Height | 399 metres (1,309 ft) (pylons) |
| Longest span | 3,300 metres (10,800 ft) |
| Clearance below | 76 metres (249 ft) |
| History | |
| Designer | Stretto di Messina |
| Construction start | TBD |
| Construction end | TBD |
| Location | |
Interactive map of Strait of Messina Bridge | |
The Strait of Messina Bridge (Italian: Ponte sullo stretto di Messina) is a proposed 3.6-kilometre (2+1⁄4 mi) suspension bridge across the Strait of Messina, connecting Torre Faro on the Italian island of Sicily with Villa San Giovanni in Calabria on the Italian mainland. If built, it would be the longest suspension bridge in the world and part of the Berlin–Palermo railway axis of the Trans-European Transport Networks.
While a bridge across the Strait of Messina had been proposed since ancient times, the first detailed plan was made in the 1990s, for a suspension bridge. The project was cancelled in 2006 under Prime Minister Romano Prodi, revived in 2009 under Silvio Berlusconi, and cancelled again in 2013 under Mario Monti. It was resurrected again in 2023 under Giorgia Meloni and received final government approval in August 2025. However, in October, Italy's Court of Audit rejected the proposal.
The proposal has drawn concerns connected with earthquakes, strong currents in the strait, disruption of bird migration routes, and a possibility of infiltration into the bridge's construction by the mafia groups Cosa Nostra and 'Ndrangheta.