![CGI of the Strait of Messina suspension bridge [images courtesy of Webuild-Eurolink Image Library].](/assets/news_articles/2025/08/1754490182_od-po-me-r457-0000-a1339-na.png)
The Italian government has given final approval for the construction of a bridge between Sicily and the mainland in Calabria.
The Eurolink contracting consortium has been given the go-ahead to beginning mobilising before the end of the year, with a target completion date of 2032.
The Eurolink contracting consortium is led by Italian company WeBuild, supported by IHI of Japan, which built the Akashi Bridge, and Spain鈥檚 Sacyr, which partnered with Webuild to expand the Panama Canal. The design team is led by Danish consulting engineer Cowi.
The Strait of Messina Bridge will span 3,666 metres with a central suspended span of 3,300 meters long, making it the longest suspension bridge in the world. The deck, approximately 60 meters wide, will have three vehicle lanes in each direction, two rail lines and two service lanes. It will be able to support the passage of up to 200 trains a day and 6,000 vehicles an hour.
The steel towers will reach 399 meters in height with a suspension system consisting of cables 1.26 metres in diameter and 5,320 metres in length. The tower foundations comprise circular reinforced concrete footings connected by a crossbeam (55-metre diameter for the Sicily tower and 48 metres for the Calabria tower). Each cable consists of 349 prefabricated strands, each made of 127 wires. The total weight of the four cables will be approximately 170,000 tonnes.
The clearance above the sea level of the deck of the Strait of Messina Bridge is 72 metres over a width measuring 600 metres.
The bridge will connect with the railway running between Palermo, Catania and Messina in Sicily, as well as the future Salerno-Reggio Calabria high-speed/high-capacity railway. It will be linked to more than 40 kilometres of new roads and rail lines, three underground train stations, 10 viaducts and several tunnels.
It is estimated that 12 million cubic metres of earth will be excavated in Sicily and 4.5 million in Calabria; this will be used to build roads and restore the environment along the Tyrrhenian coast.
Approval from the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning and Sustainable Development (CIPESS) today follows the signing of the addendum to the contract between Stretto di Messina, the concessionary company, and Eurolink. The addendum signed by Eurolink is worth 鈧�10.6bn. This addendum will come into effect with the publication of the CIPESS approval in the Official Gazette, Italy鈥檚 official journal of record.
Webuild chief executive Pietro Salini said: 鈥淭oday, Italy has shown once again how it can come together around a mega project that will be transformative for the whole country. The decision made by CIPESS to approve the Strait of Messina Bridge project marks the start of a new season of vision, courage and confidence in the capabilities of Italian industry and the entire infrastructure sector.
鈥淭he bridge will bring about a great infrastructure project spread out across many work sites contemporaneously. It will stimulate growth, employment and lawfulness across southern Italy. The project will be fitted with the most advanced technologies for safety and maintenance. It will also be built according to the highest international engineering standards. It will serve as an extraordinary opportunity for the future of young people. Talented Italian engineers, managers and workers from the sector will finally have the possibility to work in their home country on one of the most challenging projects in the world鈥�.
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