The Strait of Messina Bridge - The longest suspension Bridge in the world (3300m)

[GENIUS LOCI]

Originally Posted by Matthieu

wow, but really soon?

Well... it was the second (the first together with his allies) press conference of Berlusconi after he won
You know... 'soon' could mean years maybe

Anyway, as I already underlined in this thread, the project never quitted 'for real', even with Prodi's Governement... We can say it just was delaied... for political reasons (the presence of Greens in the past Govt. who strongly oppose to the bridge and the fact that in some way Berlusconi 'tied' his name to the bridge, then opposition to it in some way meant opposition to Berlusconi... it's stupid, I know, but it's the way it is; and infact one of the first thing Berlusconi wanted to declare once he regained the power is that he's going to build the bridge)

[ChrisZwolle]

Interesting!

It would be a massive bridge.

[EPA001]

Originally Posted by Chriszwolle

Interesting!

It would be a massive bridge.

Very interesting indeed. It would be an awsome sight to see it being built!

[Maxx☢Power]

The Berlusconi Bridge.. his head would explode from self-gratification

Fingers crossed for him actually pulling it off though, it would be an awesome bridge.

[Deadeye Reloaded]

Yeah, I love Berlusconi, too!

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/...ess/itecon.php

Berlusconi's victory gives some Italian stocks a boost



[...]

He has also pledged more infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy, including revived plans for the world's biggest suspension bridge to link mainland Italy and Sicily.

In a research note, analysts at the investment bank Abaxbank said that with the center-right's election victory, "we believe that all shares linked to infrastructure and those in niche sectors with strong business talent will mostly end up having a strong advantage."

Insurers and banks, however, would probably be penalized since Giulio Tremonti, who is tipped to be the next economy minister, would like to exclude them from cuts in corporate tax rates, the Abaxbank analysts said.

Shares in the largest Italian builder, Impregilo, closed 4.6 percent higher even as the DJ Stoxx index of European construction companies fell.

Impregilo had headed a consortium to build the Sicily bridge under Berlusconi's previous government, from 2001 to 2006, but the outgoing center-left government scrapped the plan.

[...]




http://www.worldbridgenews.com/defau...tent=291&mnu=1

Messina bridge on track (Italy)

MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Italy's centre-right political leader Silvio Berlusconi said he has held contacts with construction companies on building a bridge across the Straits of Messina, from Italy's mainland to Sicily.
Berlusconi is ahead in opinion polls to win the April 13-14 general election and wants to relaunch his previous plan to build the bridge, which was halted by the outgoing centre-left government.

"I want to do it immediately. I have already spoken to all the companies. The plan is ready," said Berlusconi, referring to the bridge during a presentation of his electoral programme.

Berlusconi did not name any companies he has contacted. A consortium led by Impregilo SpA won the contract in Nov 2005 to build the bridge under Berlusconi's previous government, beating off a bid by an Italy's Astaldi SpA consortium. In other comments, he said Berlusconi said he will reopen infrastructure works, launched under his previous government, creating 300,000-350,000 jobs. The centre left government during its 20-month tenure has also launched infrastructure works and economists say both of the two main political groupings favour boosting Italy's infrastructure.

[pilotos]

Thats some really great news!

[AceAccess]

Davvero???
Great news!
Congratulations, Italia!
Hope to see this bridge in contruction soon.

[s a s h a]

Useless and too expensive... there are many other priorities that this bridge...

[trainspotting]

Originally Posted by s a s h a

Useless and too expensive... there are many other priorities that this bridge...

For all people in the world: this quotd comment is equal to refuse the whole project to join two regions and make the Transeuropean Network (1st Corridor Berlin-Panormus) and the High Speed Trains running on it.

• Who thinks about a bridge is useless ?
  
• Who mind that a building is free ?
  
• Who cares about other priorities not just related to the bridge ?

I hope non-italians reply to these questions.

Enough talkin' about it (over 35 years)...
They're already making the Brenner BasisTunnel, necessary to let High Speed Trainz to go from Berlin to Palermo. Ha ha ha!
HST & BRIDGE, 2 B BUILT IMMEDIATELY !!! ("TAV & PONTE SUBITO!")

[trainspotting]

Originally Posted by pilotos

Thats some really great news!

[Dan]

Please keep us updated! I am glad to hear this project has been revived and hope it starts as soon as possible.

[trainspotting]

Originally Posted by Dan1113

Please keep us updated! I am glad to hear this project has been revived and hope it starts as soon as possible.

Today Matteoli, the new Transportation Minister said that works can start until 2009 !!
However, standing on the clue that works might start at the end of 2006 we're accumulating a delay over 1.5 years. As they start to build it at the end of 2009 (i hope in the first half), we're getting a 3 years delay.

[Falcon83]

Sicily bridge 'open in 2016'
Messina Strait bridge would be world's longest

(ANSA) - Rome, May 23 - Plans to build the world's longest suspension bridge to link Sicily and the Italian mainland are back on track and the bridge may open as early as 2016, the head of Italy's road-building agency ANAS said Friday.

Pietro Ciucci told ANSA that the project - one of the keystones of Premier Silvio Berlusconi's public works programme - would be able to restart smoothly despite being put into cold storage by the previous Prodi government.

Ciucci said the groundwork would start being relaid by the end of the year thanks to the ''major'' preparatory work done during Berlusconi's last term in power between 2001 and 2006.

The aim would be get the general contractor moving next year, start the actual work halfway through 2010, and cut the ribbon in 2016, he said.

''It's a tough goal, but possible,'' Ciucci said.

If Berlusconi lasts a full term again his government would end in 2013. However, it would be too late for his rivals to stop the project if they got in, the bridge's proponents say. The Messina bridge has been hailed as a huge job-creation scheme that would give Italy's image a major boost while bringing Sicily closer to the mainland in both physical and social terms.

But it has been opposed by environmentalists and dogged by concerns over its safety and fears of potential Mafia involvement.

Italy's last transport minister, Alessandro Bianchi, scotched the multi-billion-euro project, calling it ''the most useless and damaging project in Italy in the last 100 years''.

When and if completed, the bridge would replace slow ferry services between Sicily and the mainland.

The 3,690-metre-long bridge has been designed to be able to handle 4,500 cars an hour and 200 trains a day.

Work on the 6.5-billion-euro structure was originally scheduled to start in late 2006 and end in 2012.

[s a s h a]

Originally Posted by trainspotting

For all people in the world: this quotd comment is equal to refuse the whole project to join two regions and make the Transeuropean Network (1st Corridor Berlin-Panormus) and the High Speed Trains running on it.

• Who thinks about a bridge is useless ?
  
• Who mind that a building is free ?
  
• Who cares about other priorities not just related to the bridge ?

I hope non-italians reply to these questions.

Enough talkin' about it (over 35 years)...
They're already making the Brenner BasisTunnel, necessary to let High Speed Trainz to go from Berlin to Palermo. Ha ha ha!
HST & BRIDGE, 2 B BUILT IMMEDIATELY !!! ("TAV & PONTE SUBITO!")

It's useless because it's too expensive and Italy has many others priorities, especially in the south, stop.

[s a s h a]

io parlo da aspirante ingegnere civile presso l'università di Pisa...

A parte che è una cosa ultrasupermega complicata realizzare un ponte di 3.5 Km sospeso (circa il doppio dell'attuale ponte sospeso più lungo del mondo). Soprattutto perchè non è un ponte pedonale, ma un ponte dove dovrebbe passare una autostrada a 4 corsie e una linea ferroviaria doppia...

Non so se avete una minima idea del peso di una struttura del genere...

Poi tralasciando gusti estetici, ambientalisti dovuti all'enorme impatto ambientale, al fatto che è una cattedrale nel deserto...etcetc...

Non so se avete presente dove è l'Etna!!!! E come mai si trova li...e non so se avete presente di quanto si avvicina l'Africa e di quanto si allontana la Sicila...
Quale è la vita utile di un ponte del genere?? 100 anni?? ad esagerare??
La sicilia si sposta verso nord-ovest di circa 12mm all'anno se non erro...

Premesso questo: sfido chiunque di voi ad andare in una qualsiasi università ed entrare in un qualsiasi dipartimento di ing. civile e chiedere ai guru del settore cosa ne pensano del ponte sullo stretto....
Se non vi picchiano e vi buttano fuori è già tanto...
le uni di Roma, Milano, Pisa, Torino ed altre sono tutte contrarie, per i discorsi sopra considerati e per il fatto che il ritorno economico dovuto alla presenza del ponte è ridicolo...

Prima è necessario ammodernare e costruire nuove infrastrutture e poi pensare al ponte...

...

another one

allora...dal punto di vista ingegneristico posso dire che:

Molte università hanno constatato che con le attuali tecnologie dei materiali è impossibile costruire un ponte sospeso con una singola campata di quelle dimensioni, considerando il fatto che nell'idea iniziale c'è una autostrada a 4 corsie + 2 di emergenza, passerella pedonale, linea ferroviaria doppia ossia con 2 linee ferrate...

Uno dei più importanti studi ingegneristici inglesi che si erano proposti di fare un progetto che hanno fatto, hanno realizzato un modellino in scala sul tamigi con le caratteristiche sopra citate, usato poi come passerella pedonale...

Se andate a vedere non è utilizzato neanche come passerella pedonale perchè il giorno dell'inaugurazione con la gente che vi camminava sopra, il ponte entrò in risonanza...e fu immediatamente evaquato. In tempo direi e senza alcun ferito.

I giapponesi dell'uni di Tokyo la pensano uguale, loro hanno il ponte più lungo del mondo sospeso ed è di 1.6 Km (un po' meno della metà del nostro...)
E sostengono che un ponte del genere lungo 3.5 Km possa essere o solo un ponte ferroviario o solo autostradale...


P.S. io ad Impregilo non farei fare manco la fondazione della cuccia del mio cane....OMG!
E per chi ha avuto l'occasione di avere colloqui di lavoro un po' più approfondito credo sappia di cosa sto parlando...e di come lavorano.

[Matthieu]

In French please

[s a s h a]

Originally Posted by Matthieu

In French please

they are 2 young engineers... they said that the bridge with its 6 tracks (4 for cars and 2 for trains) will be to instable and the italian engineers knows that thing. Sicily moves around 12 mm every year from Italy to North Africa and this construction probably will be more instable in 100 years from now.


The revenues would be too few and the construction company Impregilo has many legal controversies in our country.

This Bridge will become "a Cathedral in the desert"

[trainspotting]

Originally Posted by s a s h a

they are 2 young engineers... they said that the bridge with its 6 tracks (4 for cars and 2 for trains) will be to instable and the italian engineers knows that thing. Sicily moves around 12 mm every year from Italy to North Africa and this construction probably will be more instable in 100 years from now.


The revenues would be too few and the construction company Impregilo has many legal controversies in our country.

This Bridge will become "a Cathedral in the desert"

False! The NorthAfrican thrust will join Sicily and Calabria in 50 Million years and the Adriatic Sea will disappear. African crustal platform is pressing up the whole Mediterranean area, making both regions move into NorthEast direction. Sicilian platform is too weak to oppose against African continental movement.

What do you mean with "cathedral in dessert" ?
We know that the strait area has a dense population.

[trainspotting]

Originally Posted by s a s h a

It's useless because it's too expensive and Italy has many others priorities, especially in the south, stop.

I told non-italians should answer me to my last questions.
Not u

[s a s h a]

Originally Posted by trainspotting

False! The NorthAfrican thrust will join Sicily and Calabria in 50 Million years and the Adriatic Sea will disappear. African crustal platform is pressing up the whole Mediterranean area, making both regions move into NorthEast direction. Sicilian platform is too weak to oppose against African continental movement.

What do you mean with "cathedral in dessert" ?
We know that the strait area has a dense population.

te lo dico in italiano: dai, sii serio è un'opera COSTOSISSIMA e poco remunerativa costruita da una delle più schifose imprese di costruzioni italiane. Anch'io amo l'architettura ma buttare soldi nel cesso proprio no, senza contare che ci mangeranno dietro tutti senza limiti.


Se è tanto strategica e remunerativa che la finanzino al 100% i privati