Steel is one of the core components in what is set to become the world’s longest suspension bridge, linking Sicily with the Italian mainland.
Once it is completed, the Strait of Messina Bridge, connecting Sicily with mainland Italy, will have the longest suspended single span in the world, with a 3,300m central deck.
Its full 3,666m span will make it 1km longer than Turkey’s Çanakkale Bridge, the current record holder. Two 399m-high, 55,000 tonne towers, made of highly-resistant steel, will form part of the suspension system, which will consist of two pairs of high-strength steel cables 52m apart, each 1.26m in diameter and weighing a total of 170,000 tonnes.
Meanwhile, the suspension bridge’s hanger system will be made up of pairs of vertical high-strength steel ropes that will support the deck on both sides and connect it every 30m to the pairs of main cables.
The multi-box wing-type steel deck (universally known as the ‘Messina Type Deck’) will be 60m wide, making it the widest in the world. And its unique structure will ensure it remains stable up to a wind speed of 270km per hour; since the maximum gust-speed measured in the last 20 years in the Strait of Messina has never exceeded 144 km per hour, there should never be cause for the bridge to close due to high winds.
The Strait of Messina bridge will have three lanes running in each direction and a double-track ’embedded rail’ railway system, which will make it lighter than other solutions and help to limit noise. The bridge will see 200 trains running over it a day and 6,000 vehicles per hour.
The bridge is to be built by a consortium called Eurolink, led by the Italy-based Webuild Group and including IHI of Japan and Spain’s Sacyr. Its construction is expected to generate over 100,000 jobs for the region and the project is forecast to cost €13.5 billion.
The Strait of Messina Bridge will form part of a new pan-Europe transport network
The European Union has included the Strait of Messina Bridge in its Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), which means that it will become part of a larger integrated transport infrastructure system designed to support the single market and ensure free movement across Europe.
Due for completion by 2033, it’s been a long time coming; initial plans for a bridge linking these two land masses have been in discussion for over 50 years!