Siciliy bridge to start next year

John_from_Eurapart · Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 8:30 pm Post subject: Siciliy bridge to start next year

The contract to build 4.4 billion Euro bridge between the Italian Mainland and Scicily has been awarded to Impregilo. The Italian company will start work on the 4 km long bridge next year. It is scheduled for completion in 2012. It will carry a six lane road and a four track high speed railway line.
BBC article

The bridge will be the world's longest suspension bridge. Wonder what the Scicilians think about it?

John
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Sidesplitter · Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 11:47 am Post subject:

I wonder how long it is till they are caught up in scandal like most Italian companies seem to be . !
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goldrake75 · Flight Steward Joined: 19 Jan 2005 Posts: 68 71 ants

it's not a matter of scandal...I'm italian, I don't live in Sicily but I really think it will be a huge disaster for the natural impact of this project...and a bridge so long in a zone so much exposed to earthquakes is not the safest solution in the world.....don't you think? Shocked

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Sidesplitter · Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 5:21 pm Post subject:

True being in a fault zone coud have problems but I'd imagine they would have thought of that and put the necessary adjustments or pieces in , just in the case of an earthquake. After all Italy and other countries around have experienced them in the past!
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Larry Aiello · Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:46 am Post subject: Earthquakes in Sicily

I heard they were planning on building the bridge to withstand earthquakes up to 7.1 or 7.2 Richter, which is pretty major.

And I'm sure they'll still keep the ferry service going, although not to the extent as before.

They've been talking about a bridge for a number of years.
If they are able to pull it off, it would be a miracle, in my opinon.

Larry
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BarryEastender · Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 7:37 pm Post subject: The Messina bridge

The Messian Bridge project has now been abandoned completely with the change of government a few months ago in Italy i..e the the Prodi government. The project woul dhave been excellent for Sicily as it woul dhave connected Messina on the East coast directly to the southern tipof mainland Italy. It's a shame really.
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aldo67 · Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:13 am Post subject:

Thank God they shelved it! It would have been a terrible thing for Sicily and Italy as a whole.
It would have lied in an earthquake prone zone, destroyed the surrounding environment and enriched the mafia even more.

BarryEastender · Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 2:35 pm Post subject: Messina Bridge

On the contary, it would have been an excellent thing for Sicily and Italy and also wouldnt have affected the environment at all (despite the claims of the PC - political correct bridage).
Italy is one of the worst performing economies in Europe and the south is even more depressed. The bridge would have been excellent for helping to rejuvenate the south and it would be terrible for democracy if a country didn't improve their infrastructure for fear of mafia dollars etc.
Earthquake wise we have the skills to built against that (San Fran bridge is an example) and the ecology in reality woul dnot have been affected at all. It woul dmean less people needing to fly of course which balances road traffic etc etc etc.
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aldo67 · Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 4:27 pm Post subject:

Well actually, the state of the infrastructure in the whole of the south of Italy is so pitiless that perhaps Tunisia can enjoy better railways and motorways then Sicily. The bridge would have only been a very expensive bottle with two tiny necks. There would have been no use to it if trains and cars are forced to go very slow. One example? to cover the 250 Km (about 150 miles) from Palermo to Ragusa (within Sicily) the fastest train takes 6.5 hrs. the slowest over 13. On the contrary the train between Rome and Paris (1500 km) takes about 14 hrs and to cover the 500 Km between Rome and Milan less than 4 hrs. So how good would have been that shiny expensive bridge without a decent infrastructure? Very good waste of money indeed.

BarryEastender · Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:02 pm Post subject: Messina bridge

I think we half agree 100% and half disagree 100%.

Regards the state of the infrastructure in Southern Italy and the trains etc I TOTALLY agree with you. The transportation is incredibly poor in Southern Italy.

This is why improvements are needed in Southern Italy including Sicily.
The bridge woul dhave drastically improved the time betwene DRIVING through southern Italy and to get to and from Sicily.
A new main road betwen Palermo and across Sicily is being worked on and has been under way for a while. Parts are complete. With the bridge and the new road the bottleneck would have been solved the Sicilian side. I am thinking of the benefits for driving rather than trains. Train wise I am inclined to agree with you ALTHOUGH you menbtion Palermo. My wife (and I got married in Catania - I'm from Devon, England though) and even the train ride would have had 2 or 3 hours cut off it with the bridge, for the train to Rome.
In terms of costs, you have to conside that all costs would be spent within Italy hence the money stays in the economy as it'd go in wages etc and be recycled money in the economy!
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briggl · Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:35 am Post subject:

So they're building a bridge between the Scylla and Charybdis? Sounds like a pretty dangerous undertaking to me!
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BobJones · Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 4:56 pm Post subject: Messina Bridge

The bridge project has definitely been pu ton the back burner now. Prodi definitely has no plans to build the bridge. What a shame! It would have really boasted the economy of the South of Italy.
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BarryEastender · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:12 pm Post subject: Messina Bridge

Latest news again suggest that the whole project is definitely 100% shelved. What a crying shame as connecting Sicily to mainland Italy would have been fantastic.
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PaulApple · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:18 pm Post subject: Sicily Bridge

Well with Prodi resigning again last week and with Berlusconi having been the main guy who was the force behind the Messina Bridge development who knows. Might it perhaps come back into play.

At the moment it takes ages for the train to change track and get onto the train for the hop across the Messina strait before the train derails back onto the track. A bridge would significantly help Sicily.
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