Rome, 15 February 2024 – After its presentation by the CEO, Pietro Ciucci, Stretto di Messina’s Board of Directors, chaired by Giuseppe Recchi, approved the designers’ report, a revised version of the final design for the Strait of Messina Bridge dating back to 2011, as well as the additional design documentation aimed at restarting construction of the project, as required by law.

The designers’ report was prepared pursuant to Legislative Decree 35 of 31 March 2023 by the General Contractor, Eurolink, led by the Webuild Group. Approval of the report is the outcome of a comprehensive system of checks put in place by Stretto di Messina which, in addition to the Company’s engineers, involved the Parsons Transportation Group as project management consultant, and an Expert Panel to support technical and specialist analysis, consisting of leading representatives in the aerodynamics-aeroelastic, earthquake, geotechnical and environmental disciplines. As required by the above Legislative Decree, the Company also obtained a favourable opinion with recommendations on the report from the Scientific Committee. The Scientific Committee is an autonomous and independent body established by Law 1158/1971, consisting of nine experts appointed by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport in agreement with the Calabria and Sicily Regionsal Authorities.

“This is a great outcome,” commented Stretto di Messina CEO, Pietro Ciucci, “achieved in just a few months thanks to the efforts of the government, especially the Minister of Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini, and of the General Contractor, Eurolink, Stretto di Messina and our other contractors and experts in the various engineering disciplines related to the bridge. It has turned out to be an extraordinary, technologically advanced project, creating a global benchmark. After the many ‘Messina style’ bridges built around the world, it is now time to build one across the Strait of Messina.”

In particular, the report vouched for the final design’s correspondence with the preliminary design, and with the provisions laid down at the time of its approval, with particular reference to the project’s environmental compatibility and location. Moreover, it highlighted further modifications to be developed in the final design, aimed at bringing it into line with the following aspects, pursuant to Legislative Decree 35 of 31 March 2023:

• technical construction standards (NTC2018), and the resulting changes to geological modelling and geotechnical characterisation;
• current safety regulations;
• specific design rules as set out in the design manuals currently in use;
• environmental compatibility;
• technological developments and the use of new construction materials;
• testing required by the Scientific Committee’s report on the final design of 2011.

Primarily, the modifications introduced by the designers’ report regard the following aspects:

• Drafting of the detailed design and all the subsequent phases of the project’s life cycle with application of BIM methodologies, in accordance with the technical and regulatory standards currently in use at national and international level for the design, construction and operation of major works.
• Integration and enhancement of structural monitoring (SHMS – Structural Health Monitoring System), maintenance management (BMS – Bridge Management System), and control and management (MACS – Management and Control System) systems.
• Coupling the continuous bridges/viaducts and bridge infrastructure monitoring system with a structural digital twin, in order to interpret and predict structural performance and simulate relevant scenarios, and to provide important data for maintenance planning.
• Improvement of the durability of the bridge’s structures, by using better performing concrete and protective paints, and through enhancement of the steel structures’ internal dehumidification system.
• Improvement of active and passive fire protection systems for the metal parts of the bridge infrastructure potentially exposed to vehicle and train fires.
• Implementation of a smart road structure, in line with the EU and national framework for the digitisation of road infrastructure, with more advanced driver assistance.
• During the detailed design, definition of a tolling system in line with technologies that already exist on some Italian motorways, such as free flow, with a view to reducing impact on local areas and speeding up road traffic.

Stretto di Messina also asked the designers to make some adjustments to the project during the detailed design phase, partly with a view to enhancing the bridge for tourism purposes.   

The Board of Directors also approved:

– a review of the environmental documentation, especially the Environmental Impact Study, the Environmental Impact Assessment, the Compliance Report and the Landscape Report, in order to bring the assessments into line with the current planning, environmental and territorial context, as well as with the overall project framework revised to include the above recommendations in the designers’ report.

– a cost-benefit analysis, which showed that the project can generate a substantially positive economic net present value (EVA) with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 4.5%, above the minimum level required by current regulations (3%).

– a revised version of the expropriation plan. In the next few days, a notice will be published in the press to initiate the procedure for approval of the project by the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning and Sustainable Development (CIPESS), which is expected by the middle of this year. This will lead to a declaration of public utility, which will initiate the compulsory purchase process. This intermediate phase will enable all the affected parties to view the project documentation and make any comments. In this context, via dedicated spaces in Messina and Villa San Giovanni, Stretto di Messina will provide support to enable clear and comprehensive analysis of the project documentation. This stems from the need to pay due attention to the local area with respect to such an important and delicate issue as compulsory purchase orders, with the aim of launching discussion between the parties, in order to reach agreed solutions with each affected party and promptly identify fair compensation within an appropriate timeframe. 

– an advanced works programme, to be started after approval of the final design by CIPESS. These works primarily regard preparatory operations for construction sites, with particular attention paid to the road system; dealing with any obstacles; the clearance of unexploded ordnance; archaeological, geognostic and geotechnical surveys; and the preparation of base camps.

Next steps
Once approved, as per Legislative Decree 35, the Company will submit the documentation to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, which will convene a Services Conference to be attended by state authorities and local bodies interested in construction of the project.

At the same time, the documentation will be forwarded to the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, the Ministry of Culture and other competent authorities for environmental and landscape consents.

As laid down in Legislative Decree 35, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport will then submit the final design and the designers’ report to CIPESS for approval, together with any observations, requests and conditions arising from the Services Conference, any conditions resulting from the environmental impact assessment and the financial plan.

Stretto di Messina will draw up the above financial plan, showing how the cost of the project will be covered by the funding made available in the 2024 Budget Law, together with the funds raised following the Company’s earlier capital increase and expected income generated by the bridge.  

CIPESS approval is currently expected in the middle of this year. Consequently, the construction phase will start in the summer of 2024. The bridge is scheduled to be opened to road and rail traffic in 2032.

° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

Technical specifications for the final design of the bridge and its land links

All the technical specifications of the bridge and its land links have been confirmed

• Central suspended span: 3,300 metres
• Total length: 3,666 metres (including two 183-metre side spans)
• Height of the towers at each end: 399 metres
• Suspension cables: 4 with a diameter of 1.26 metres (each consisting of 44,323 steel wires)
• Width of the deck: 60.4 metres (3 road lanes in each direction, 2 service lanes and 2 rail tracks)
• Clearance: 65 metres over a width of 600 metres, under exceptional conditions of heavy road and rail traffic. Clearance rises to 72 metres in the absence of rail traffic
• Open to traffic 365 days a year, 24 hours a day
• Useful life: 200 years

The road and rail infrastructure linking the Bridge to the surrounding areas include 40 km of road and rail links (approximately 80% of which running through tunnels) connecting, on the Calabrian side, with the Autostrada del Mediterraneo (A2) and Villa San Giovanni train station and, on the Sicilian side, with the Messina-Catania (A18) and Messina-Palermo (A20) motorways and the new Messina train station.

• 20.3km of road links
• 20.2km of rail links

On the Sicilian side, three underground railway stops (Papardo, Annunziata, Europa) will also be built, which, together with the stations of Messina, Villa San Giovanni and Reggio, will make up the inter-regional metro system for the Strait area. 

The project also includes construction of the operational headquarters (on the Calabrian side) designed by the Daniel Libeskind Studio. The architectural aspects of this building will be examined in detail during the detailed design phase in agreement with the authorities responsible for landscape protection.

Earthquakes, wind and rail runnability: Utmost safety
In the event of an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 on the Richter scale, the bridge and its terrestrial links would not be damaged, as additional safety margins above the planned threshold will be put in place.

The bridge can withstand wind speeds of over 300 km per hour, although during more than 20 years of local wind monitoring, wind speeds above 150 km per hour have never been recorded.

The rail runnability allows two heavy 750-metre trainsets to pass each other in opposite directions at high speed in any position. Static analysis was calculated using four 750-metre trains, with two trains on each track.

Time savings with the bridge: 1/1.5 hours for cars, 2 hours for trains
The bridge will enable average crossing times of around 15 minutes for direct rail services between Villa San Giovanni and Messina Centrale, compared to the current 120 minutes for passenger trains, and at least 180 minutes for goods trains, and average crossing times of around 10/13 minutes by road (between the Santa Trada junction and the Giostra junction), compared to the current 70 minutes for cars (San Francesco terminal) and 100 minutes for goods vehicles (Tremestieri terminal).

Impact on employment: During the construction phase, 120,000 annual work units (AWUs)
It is estimated that an average of 4,300 workers per year will be employed at construction sites, reaching 7,000 workers during the peak construction period. Therefore, during the construction phase (7 years), the direct employment impact will amount to approximately 30,000 annual work units, which together with the impact of inducted and supply chain employment, estimated at 90,000 annual work units, makes a total of 120,000 AWUs generated by the project.

Members of the Expert Panel 

– Prof. Giorgio Diana, for aeroelastic and aerodynamic matters;

– Prof. Ezio Faccioli and Giovanni Vaciago, for seismic and geotechnical matters;

– Prof. Sascia Canale for environmental matters.