Italy gives final approval for world's longest suspension bridge to Sicily [View all]

[muriel_volestrangler]

Rome has given final approval to a €13.5bn ($15.6bn) project to build the world's longest suspension bridge, connecting the island of Sicily to the region of Calabria, on the tip of Italy's boot.

The designers claim the bridge – which is due to be built on one of the most seismically active areas in the Mediterranean – will be able to withstand earthquakes.

It is the latest attempt by Italian officials to launch the Messina Bridge project - several have tried over the years but plans have later been scrapped due to concerns over cost, environmental damage, safety or potential mafia meddling.
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According to the final project, the bridge over the Messina strait will span 3.3km (2.05 miles) and stretch between two 400-metre (1,300 feet) high towers, with two railway lines in the middle will run and three lanes of traffic on either side.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80d74v0e4lo

And they want to call it "military expenditure", because of the "spend 5% of your GDP on defense" nonsense in NATO.