{"id":9872,"date":"2025-08-27T11:55:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T09:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/?p=9872"},"modified":"2025-08-27T11:55:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T09:55:54","slug":"the-bridge-of-sighs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/the-bridge-of-sighs\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bridge of Sighs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bridge over the Strait of Messina is the flagship project of Transport Minister Matteo Salvini. It is strongly opposed by opposition parties, who argue that the funds required could be put to better use elsewhere. Yet the social cost-benefit analysis\u2014the most relevant international tool to support or challenge infrastructure choices\u2014seems to carry little weight in the debate, replaced instead by a bipartisan quest for short-term consensus, even when such major decisions are at stake. As for the project itself, doubts abound, from its economic feasibility\u2014though less severe than in similar cases\u2014to its supposed \u201cstrategic\u201d role for the South\u2019s development. On a technical level, uncertainties remain that could easily translate into significant cost overruns.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Bridge over the Strait of Messina regained political prominence under the Meloni government: Minister Salvini made it a top priority for his ministry, presenting it as strategic for the development of the affected regions, the entire South, and even the country.<\/p>\n

Going back\u2014not as far as the Romans\u2019 proposed pontoon bridge, but to recent history\u2014the project burst onto the scene in the early 2000s when Silvio Berlusconi wrote it on Bruno Vespa\u2019s famous blackboard as one of nineteen \u201cgreat works,\u201d thus inaugurating an era in which infrastructure served as an electoral consensus tool.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, no serious technical or economic analysis preceded the proposal: the goal had become electoral consensus, a persistent driver of the project. Still, some assessment was deemed necessary, and an international tender was launched for an independent economic evaluation, in line with World Bank practice. The original tender required a cost-benefit analysis. A highly qualified UK group submitted a bid, but soon the term \u201ccost-benefit\u201d was dropped and replaced with the more generic, less stringent \u201ceconomic analysis.\u201d The tender was ultimately won by an Italian group seen as politically more reliable, which conformed to the softened terms.<\/p>\n

The results were only moderately favorable. Later, the Transport Ministry produced its own version of the analysis, methodologically fanciful but yielding stronger results. Meanwhile, another independent analysis gained wide media attention by reaching negative conclusions.<\/p>\n

After Berlusconi\u2019s fall, the following center-left government ended up supporting nearly all the \u201cgreat works\u201d except the Bridge\u2014excluded not for technical or economic reasons but because it was Berlusconi\u2019s flagship project.<\/p>\n

In 2012, the Monti government completely scrapped the project, liquidating the Stretto di Messina<\/em> company established years earlier to manage it. The government also canceled the results of the construction tender\u2014won, predictably, by an Italian consortium. The winners filed a multibillion-euro lawsuit, lost in the first round but kept alive until Salvini\u2019s later settlement.<\/p>\n

In 2021, the Transport Ministry commissioned a new study: a detailed report, but not a cost-benefit analysis. It reviewed current traffic, technical options, and even radical alternatives such as a three-span bridge with in-water pillars.<\/p>\n

The original design calls instead for a single-span suspension bridge of three kilometers, carrying both road and rail traffic\u2014an unprecedented feat at such scale.<\/p>\n

Salvini chose not to revise the project, considering litigation with builders too risky. Upon taking office, he restored the original consortium and reconstituted the Stretto di Messina<\/em> company. He also froze projected costs at \u20ac13.5 billion, even before a bill of quantities was produced\u2014an essential element for any realistic cost estimate. Internationally, major works like this typically exceed budget forecasts by about 25% on average, and the risks here, given the project\u2019s uniqueness, are likely greater.<\/p>\n

For contractors, this poses no problem: once works begin, any funding suspension halting progress entitles them to full compensation, driving up final costs. Contracts also include profit mark-ups, so \u201cstop and go\u201d disruptions\u2014common in Italian public works\u2014ultimately boost contractor profits. For builders, the key is simply to get the site opened.<\/p>\n

Does the Bridge Actually Serve a Purpose?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The central question remains: does the Bridge deliver social benefits greater than its costs?<\/p>\n

A recent \u201csocial cost-benefit\u201d analysis was commissioned by the resurrected Stretto di Messina<\/em> company\u2014thus hardly neutral. Using official cost figures, results appeared moderately positive. But even small overruns would render them negative.<\/p>\n

In Italy, cost-benefit analyses rarely show negative outcomes in transport, except for a few authored by this writer in 2019\u2014promptly disowned by the very minister who commissioned them. Political pressure for \u201cneutrality\u201d is so pervasive that for NRRP infrastructure projects, analyses were sometimes assigned directly to the very entities receiving funds\u2014unsurprisingly producing glowing results.<\/p>\n

Returning to the Bridge, the official analysis was independently audited by BRT Onlus, which flagged highly optimistic assumptions, particularly on environmental aspects. Socioeconomic benefits were found to fall short of costs, though less dramatically than in other cases. Notably, dropping rail capacity would improve results, since it imposes costly rigidity with little benefit given the modest traffic forecasts.<\/p>\n

As for road traffic, benefits consist mainly of travel time savings for freight and passengers, plus environmental gains from reduced emissions. Yet most projected traffic will be local and road-based. Long-distance freight will continue mainly by sea, and passenger traffic by air. Saving one hour on a Messina\u2013Reggio Calabria connection is valuable, but negligible on ten-hour journeys.<\/p>\n

Thus, claims of major national importance or transformative effects for the two regions seem unfounded. Benefits exist but cannot be called \u201cstrategic\u201d\u2014that is, beyond what standard cost-benefit analyses already measure.<\/p>\n

Similarly shaky are Salvini\u2019s repeated claims of 130,000 new jobs from the project, beyond construction roles. Like any major infrastructure, such jobs are temporary and highly specialized\u2014not necessarily filled locally.<\/p>\n

Construction Risks<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Another dimension is construction and safety risks, noted by experts in the field.<\/p>\n

The most serious concern is a major seismic fault, especially on the Calabrian side, deemed \u201cinactive\u201d by project promoters. Yet in 1908 the area suffered a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, killing tens of thousands.<\/p>\n

Another risk is the extreme slenderness of the 3,300-meter deck, unprecedented for a rail bridge. This could cause vibrations, risking frequent rail service suspensions. Add the Strait\u2019s strong winds, and problems seem likely. Globally, no structure of this scale has ever been attempted\u2014especially with rail traffic. Uncertainty surrounds cable performance and cement curing for foundations of piers over 300 meters tall.<\/p>\n

Collapse is improbable, but the likelihood of costly interventions and prolonged service interruptions is high.<\/p>\n

The political debate continues, with the governing majority united and initial funds allocated to launch works. Some have even floated supposed \u201cmilitary value,\u201d an argument best left aside.<\/p>\n

The opposition\u2014particularly the Democratic Party\u2014fiercely opposes the project, though not over its economics or fiscal burden (rail projects\u2019 costs always fall fully on the state). Nor could it, since it approved without objection another project functionally linked to the Bridge: the high-speed doubling of the Salerno\u2013Reggio Calabria line, with an initial NRRP segment costing \u20ac7 billion but a total projected cost of \u20ac22\u201327 billion\u2014nearly the equivalent of two Messina Bridges. That project, on a line far from capacity, now appears shelved.<\/p>\n

In the end, rationalizing infrastructure spending is clearly not a political priority. Instead, we see bipartisan use of such projects for short-term consensus. Transport infrastructure, with long completion times, lends itself especially well: as international literature shows, those who decide them are never held accountable for cost overruns or traffic volumes falling short of forecasts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Marco Ponti has served as a consultant on transport for national and international organizations, has managed companies in the sector, and was Professor of Economics at the Polytechnic University of Milan. He is currently head of BRT Onlus, which conducts research on transport policy.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bridge over the Strait of Messina is the flagship project of Transport Minister Matteo Salvini. It is strongly opposed by opposition parties, who argue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14330,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[366],"class_list":["post-9872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-categorizzato"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Bridge of Sighs - Rivista Eco<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/the-bridge-of-sighs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Bridge of Sighs - Rivista Eco\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Bridge over the Strait of Messina is the flagship project of Transport Minister Matteo Salvini. It is strongly opposed by opposition parties, who argue […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/the-bridge-of-sighs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rivista Eco\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-27T09:55:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marco Ponti\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marco Ponti\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/the-bridge-of-sighs\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/the-bridge-of-sighs\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Marco Ponti\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26e37568716a011a086ab42dd826d182\"},\"headline\":\"The Bridge of Sighs\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-27T09:55:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/the-bridge-of-sighs\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1254,\"articleSection\":[\"Non categorizzato\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/the-bridge-of-sighs\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/the-bridge-of-sighs\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Bridge of Sighs - Rivista Eco\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-27T09:55:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26e37568716a011a086ab42dd826d182\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/the-bridge-of-sighs\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/the-bridge-of-sighs\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/the-bridge-of-sighs\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Bridge of Sighs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Rivista Eco\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26e37568716a011a086ab42dd826d182\",\"name\":\"Marco Ponti\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4ddceec2940e6500fea2f0ee2e263c7fdba04c09c9d477fb826129b5e2c03318?s=96&d=mm&r=gf5dad4584891efb223053312d8519363\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4ddceec2940e6500fea2f0ee2e263c7fdba04c09c9d477fb826129b5e2c03318?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4ddceec2940e6500fea2f0ee2e263c7fdba04c09c9d477fb826129b5e2c03318?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Marco Ponti\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/mponti\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Bridge of Sighs - Rivista Eco","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/the-bridge-of-sighs\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Bridge of Sighs - Rivista Eco","og_description":"The Bridge over the Strait of Messina is the flagship project of Transport Minister Matteo Salvini. It is strongly opposed by opposition parties, who argue […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/the-bridge-of-sighs\/","og_site_name":"Rivista Eco","article_published_time":"2025-08-27T09:55:54+00:00","author":"Marco Ponti","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marco Ponti","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/the-bridge-of-sighs\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/the-bridge-of-sighs\/"},"author":{"name":"Marco Ponti","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#\/schema\/person\/26e37568716a011a086ab42dd826d182"},"headline":"The Bridge of Sighs","datePublished":"2025-08-27T09:55:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/the-bridge-of-sighs\/"},"wordCount":1254,"articleSection":["Non categorizzato"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/the-bridge-of-sighs\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/the-bridge-of-sighs\/","name":"The Bridge of Sighs - Rivista Eco","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-08-27T09:55:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#\/schema\/person\/26e37568716a011a086ab42dd826d182"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/the-bridge-of-sighs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/the-bridge-of-sighs\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/the-bridge-of-sighs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Bridge of Sighs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/","name":"Rivista Eco","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#\/schema\/person\/26e37568716a011a086ab42dd826d182","name":"Marco Ponti","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ddceec2940e6500fea2f0ee2e263c7fdba04c09c9d477fb826129b5e2c03318?s=96&d=mm&r=gf5dad4584891efb223053312d8519363","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ddceec2940e6500fea2f0ee2e263c7fdba04c09c9d477fb826129b5e2c03318?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ddceec2940e6500fea2f0ee2e263c7fdba04c09c9d477fb826129b5e2c03318?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Marco Ponti"},"url":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/author\/mponti\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14330"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9872"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9874,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9872\/revisions\/9874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9872"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=9872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}