The Italian government is proposing a new bridge linking Sicily to mainland Italy. Construction of the bridge is expected to cost 9 billion euros and is expected to take six years to complete, with a proposed start date of 2024.

The Strait of Messina Bridge will be more than 3.2 kilometers long in a project aimed at boosting the economy of Sicily as well as the stagnant southern Italian mainland. Establishing the link will reduce travel times and replace ferries currently in use. The link will be charged, which will repay the cost of its construction. If completed, the bridge will have the longest central span of a suspension bridge in the world.

A bridge across the Strait of Messina has been proposed since Roman times, 2,000 years ago, when a pontoon-style structure was suggested. Ambitious plans for the route have been proposed for centuries, with the number of proposals increasing since the mid-19th century. More recently, a suspension bridge was proposed in the 1990s to link the Calabria region of southern Italy to Sicily, which was canceled in 2006. The program was restarted in 2009 before being canceled again in 2013. At the time the bridge was expected to cost more than 6 billion euros, but the proposal fell through due to a lack of funds and legal disputes.

The project is controversial and will undoubtedly face major technical challenges, as the region is known for its large earthquakes, as well as the strong tidal currents of the Strait of Messina. There is also a certain degree of cynicism in Italy's proposal for the bridge, as the project has been proposed several times over the past 2,000 years.Editor/XingWentao