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bridge construction

Italy’s Planned Strait of Messina Bridge: Design, Cost and Approval Status

The proposed Strait of Messina Bridge could set a suspension-span record, but it remains in planning and review, with no firm construction or opening date established.

By Bettesworth Construction Team 4 min read
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Italy is advancing plans for a road-and-rail bridge across the Strait of Messina, between Sicily and Calabria, but the bridge is not under construction. Its proposed 3,300-metre central suspension span would be the world’s longest if built. The final design received government approval in August 2025, but the Court of Auditors later refused clearance for the approval resolution and a concession addendum. Further legal, environmental and planning steps have followed; a firm construction start or opening date has not been established.

What Italy is proposing

The Strait of Messina Bridge is a proposed fixed crossing linking mainland Calabria with Sicily. It is planned to carry both road traffic and trains, alongside about 40 kilometres of connecting road and rail infrastructure. It would not be a standalone span: its usefulness depends on the approach works and connections on both sides of the strait.

The project company, Stretto di Messina S.p.A., is the concessionaire. Eurolink, led by Webuild, is the general contractor; Parsons Transportation Group is the project management consultant, Cowi is the bridge designer, and Edison Next Environment leads environmental monitoring. These are the roles listed by the project company.

How large would the bridge be?

The record claim refers to the bridge’s single central suspended span, not its entire length. Stretto di Messina gives the overall length as 3,666 metres, including two 183-metre side spans. The measurements below are project specifications, not dimensions of a completed bridge.

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Proposed feature Project figure
Central suspended span 3,300 metres
Overall bridge length 3,666 metres, including two 183-metre side spans
Tower height 399 metres
Deck width 60.4 metres
Suspension cables Four, each 1.26 metres in diameter
Deck uses Road lanes, service lanes and two rail tracks
Connecting infrastructure About 40 kilometres of road and rail links

Webuild’s 2025 media kit gives planned capacity of 200 trains per day and 6,000 vehicles per hour. Those are design claims about intended capacity, not observed traffic flows or independently measured operating performance.

Seismic and wind claims

Stretto di Messina says the design is intended to withstand a magnitude 7.1 earthquake and winds up to 216 kilometres per hour. Webuild’s media kit cites 270 kilometres per hour for aeroelastic stability. These figures come from project-side sources and use different descriptions; they should not be read as independently verified guarantees of operating performance.

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Where the approval process stands

The project has passed significant planning milestones, but “approved” does not mean that every legal and implementation question is settled. The sequence matters: CIPESS approved the final design and related plans in 2025, the Court of Auditors subsequently refused clearance for the resolution and concession addendum, and government and planning activity continued in 2026.

Date Milestone
6 August 2025 CIPESS approved the final design, financial plan and environmental documentation, according to Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the project company.
27 November and 16 December 2025 The project company says the Court of Auditors refused clearance for CIPESS Resolution 41/2025 and the third concession addendum. The Associated Press described the initial refusal as a setback that did not by itself definitively block the project.
March–8 May 2026 According to Stretto di Messina, the government responded to the Court’s concerns through a decree that was later converted into Law 71 of 8 May 2026. The company also says ministries submitted information requested by European Commission directorates.
13 July 2026 The transport ministry said Italian offices were preparing additional information requested by the European Commission on environmental and procurement matters.
6 August 2026 The project company’s chronology says the Higher Council of Public Works gave the green light for detailed planning.

As of 5 October 2026, the available information supports describing the government as continuing the project through further planning and review. It does not establish that construction has started or that the bridge has an agreed opening year.

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What is known about the cost and funding

Stretto di Messina’s estimate, in its timeline current through 6 August 2026, is €13.532 billion. The company says €13.162 billion is covered by public funding and €370 million came from a capital increase subscribed by Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance in December 2023. This is the project company’s estimate and funding account, not a final construction outturn.

Environmental review and public concerns

The project company reports a favorable environmental impact assessment opinion in November 2024 and a favorable site implications opinion in May 2025. It also says compensatory measures and information for European Union review formed part of the process. The transport ministry’s July 2026 statement that additional information was being prepared for the European Commission on environmental and procurement rules shows that dialogue and review remained active; it does not establish that every legal or ecological question has been settled.

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Associated Press reporting described debate over the scale of the project, earthquake concerns, environmental effects, potential organized-crime interference and the risk of delays. These are matters raised in public debate and reporting, not findings that the project is unsafe or that criminal interference has occurred.

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When will construction begin, and when will it open?

No firm current construction-start date or opening date is established by the available statements through 5 October 2026. The detailed-planning milestone reported for August 2026 is a planning step, not evidence that physical construction has begun. Earlier schedule expectations should not be treated as settled dates after the later audit, legal and European Commission review steps.

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