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

[Deadeye]

press release
12/10/2005

PRESS RELEASE (http://213.26.161.118/impregiloist/index.cfm)

IMPREGILO GENERAL CONTRACTOR FOR STRAITS OF MESSINA BRIDGE
IMPREGILO GROUPING WINS BID WITH A TENDER FOR 3.88 BILLION EURO.


Impregilo S.p.A., Italy’s leading infrastructure constructor, has been awarded the top score on its tender for the construction of the bridge over the Straits of Messina, the contract-awarder announced today.

Impregilo S.p.A. will therefore act as General Contractor for construction of the bridge; it holds a 45% share in the vehicle formed for the project, whose other investors are Sacyr SA (18.70%), Società Italiana Condotte (15%), Cooperativa CMC (13%), Ishikawajma-Harima Heavy Industries Co. (6.30%) and Aci Consorzio Stabile of the Gavio group (2%). The project engineer is Cowi. The General Contractor has arranged a pre-financing for an amount equivalent to 15% of the project with Banca Intesa, CARIGE, Banca Popolare Italiana.

The contract was awarded on a 3.88 billion euro tender, a reduction of 12.33% on the basic bid price of 4.43 billion euro; construction will be completed within a maximum timeframe of 70 months.

The bid was drawn up after extensive analysis over the last 12 months by Impregilo, together with the engineering and research units of the other companies in the grouping and with Cowi, during which all project components, construction technologies and methods were examined and assessed; based on their analysis, the grouping were able to formulate a cost-effective bid with an outstanding technical content.

The members of the Impregilo grouping boast significant experience in this type of construction project; more specifically, Impregilo built the second suspension bridge over the Bosphorus in Turkey, for a length of 1087 m; Cowi engineered the Storebealt bridge linking Denmark and Sweden, while Japan’s IHI was lead company on the construction of the Akashi Kaikyo, the world’s longest suspension bridge.

With a length of 3,666 metres, the bridge over the Straits of Messina will be the longest bridge in the world, with a central span of 3,300 metres and a deck of 60.4 metres. The bridge will feature six traffic lanes, two service lanes and two railway lines.

“We are very proud to have been awarded this important contract for a project that will represent the state-of-the-art in Europe and worldwide,” said Impregilo S.p.A. Chief Executive Officer Alberto Lina.

“I believe that the decisive element was our detailed project analysis,” commented Alberto Rubegni, head of Engineering & Construction at Impregilo. “This involved development of special assembly techniques on all technical, planning and construction components, with the result that we were able to present a highly competitive bid.”

“The award of this contract is the outcome of an extremely complex team effort that began in 2002 and involved 130 people from all the companies in the grouping, together with the specialists at Denmark’s COWI and the scientists of the IHI research centres in Japan,” added Alberto Lina.

Impregilo is the constructor of some of Europe’s and the world’s most important infrastructures. Current general contractor projects in Italy include the Milan-Turin and Bologna-Florence high-speed railways, the Mestre Orbital, the Salerno-Reggio Calabria motorway, the Monte Bianco-Aosta motorway and the Genoa and Naples underground railways. Abroad, Impregilo is working on the St Gothard railway tunnel in Switzerland, the Caracas-Tuy Medio and Puerto Cabello-Encrujiada railways in Venezuela, the Athens underground, the Karahnjukar dam in Iceland and the Mazar dam in Ecuador, and the Portland tunnel in the USA.


http://img14.imgspot.com/u/05/87/06/MessinaBridge.jpg




All Bridge-related figures (http://www.strettodimessina.it/numeripagine-e.html)



Designers
• more than 100 internationally outstanding professionals and engineers
• 12 National and foreign Scientific and University Institutes
• 39 National and foreign Companies and Associations

Technical Project
• 3.300 metres - length of the central span
• 3.666 metres - the total length
• 60,4 metres - width of the suspended deck
• 382,60 metres - total height of the towers
• 2 pairs of suspension cables
• 5.300 metres long with a diameter of 1,24 metres - dimensions of the cables
• 44.352 wires for each cable
• 65 metres high by 600 wide - the minimum central navigable clearance

Road and rail capacity
• 6 driving lanes, 3 for each direction (1 fast, 1 normal, 1 emergency)
• 2 service lanes
• 2 rail tracks
• 6.000 vehicles/hour and 200 trains/day - the theorical traffic capacity


http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_simula/07-web.jpg

http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_simula/15-web.jpg

http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_simula/04-web.jpg


:cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :dance: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

[heavyzakura334]

good, news, I found this article and posted it in the italian page already

[Mac]

Italy is bankrupt, how can it afford to build this?....is it a private venture?.

[Arpels]

:) great party Deadeye, congrats for thys beauty!!

[Falcon83]

Italy is bankrupt, how can it afford to build this?....is it a private venture?.

Do you read "The Economist"? :laugh:

[mikebond]

Italy is bankrupt, how can it afford to build this?....is it a private venture?.
The bridge will be built in "project financing", that is the constructor finances it, not the government.
Anyway, Italy is not bankrupt. Eurostat has just shown our growth is higher than in the other countries of Eurozone.

[CULWULLA]

wow worlds tallest bridge towers! 383m. impressive
thanks

[Arpels]

383 mt? :uh:

[Deadeye]

Two satellite pictures of the strait of messina:


http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/messina_ast_2002165.jpg



http://www.odysseymagazine.com/images/scoops-2002-12.jpg

[j4893k]

That's amazing. The white looks awesome.

[Bitxofo]

Great and beautiful!!
:okay:

[Giorgio]

Well, if Greece is going to loose the title, im so glad its to Beautiful Italy!
So too our 'neighbours' - :cheers:

Ps: It looks like its too big to support itself. Is it possible to have only the 2 pylons? I'm shocked!

[crazyevildude]

What title is Greece Losing? :?

[JohnnyMass]

I'm wondering the same...Great Bridge though, I hope Italy builds it!

[Phlip]

It's Japan that loses the title for longest span bridge when this is built, isn't it?

[Fern]

Well, if Greece is going to loose the title, im so glad its to Beautiful Italy!
:? :?

Impressive structure, but hopefully Lisbon's new bridge will be even more impressive! ;)

[Justme]

Came across this comparison with the wonderful Golden Gate, thought I should post it here:

http://www.ce.memphis.edu/3121/stuff/monster%20bridge.jpg

[Donovan]

^ So the bridge doesn't really have a "Deck" but rather 3 seperate roadways. Cool !!!!

Can't believe it's will be more than twice as long as the Golden Gate Bridge, and Golden Gate was already very big and impressive. :)

[IDigFla85]

Fern,
Apologize for the ignorance, but I was unaware of a new bridge in Lisbon? How big and when will construction start?

[Falcon83]

Environmentalists on Thursday issued a fresh plea to the government to halt construction plans for a bridge between Italy and Sicily .

Speaking ahead of a major demonstration against the Messina Bridge this weekend, the World Wide Fund for Nature said a new environmental study was needed following a reclassification of the area's status .

Large swathes of land affected by the scheme at both ends of the bridge in Calabria and Sicily, were recently granted special EU protected status owing to their unique bird and wildlife populations .

"This means there has been a radical change in conditions since the first environmental study on which the project was based," said Anna Giordano, the WWF's Sicily spokesperson .

Alberto Ziparo, who coordinated initial government-commissioned research into the bridge's potential impact, agreed that the latest development made it impossible to push ahead with the project as planned .

"The enlargement of the EU protected zone to the entire area affected by the project completely nullifies the assessments carried out so far," explained Ziparo, a professor at Florence University .

"The study must be substantially redone, current procedures scrapped and all further action put on hold" .

Meanwhile, Italy's largest trade union, CGIL, has announced it will also be joining Sunday's demonstration against the bridge .

"The impact of 40 kilometres of ring-roads, 20 main roads and 20 railways in one of the country's most sensitive areas would seriously compromise the environment and landscape," a statement by the union read .

The reclassification in the area's status followed a string of warnings from the EU over local authorities' failure to protect local wildlife .

A headland rich in bird and animal life lies very close to the Sicilian end of the bridge, and the EU refused to release its 20% chunk of the bridge's estimated 6.5 billion-euro price tag without further environmental guarantees .

Earlier this month, Sicilian and Calabrian authorities announced the contested areas had finally been brought in line with EU standards .

However, environmentalists also say the development will threaten large areas of countryside on both sides of the strait and will be unsafe in an area at high risk of earthquakes .

In addition, the project has been dogged by concerns over its safety and fears of potential Mafia involvement ever since it was unveiled in 1996 .

A consortium led by major engineering group Impregilo was recently chosen to build the bridge .

But Rome prosecutors opened an investigation into the bidding process after wiretaps appeared to indicate Impregilo had the job wrapped up ahead of time .

Separately, prosecutors are investigating evidence that a huge international Mafia ring was trying to get many of the lucrative contracts attached to the bridge .

However, the centre-right government believes the project will help lift southern Italy and Sicily out of the economic doldrums that have plagued the region for decades .

Dismissing fears of Mafia infiltration and environmental damage, Premier Silvio Berlusconi recently stressed the economic benefits the bridge would bring Sicily, helping make the huge island "100% Italian" .

He said the construction site alone would bring thousands of tourists to the island, drawn by the prospect of seeing the world's longest suspension bridge going up .

"It'll be like a huge cinema set," the premier told local journalists .

As for its immediate economic impact, Berlusconi said it would provide work for 15,000 people in Messina alone .

The Messina Bridge, which will replace slow ferry services, is the grandest part of Berlusconi's public works programme .

Work on the bridge is scheduled to begin this year and end by 2012 .

It will be 3,690 metres long - although the entire length of the construction could reach 5,070 metres. It is expected to be able to handle 4,500 cars an hour and 200 trains a day .

[tykho]

Came across this comparison with the wonderful Golden Gate, thought I should post it here:

http://www.ce.memphis.edu/3121/stuff/monster%20bridge.jpg

Oh, God! It's HUGE! :eek:

[Kai Tak]

It's Japan that loses the title for longest span bridge when this is built, isn't it?
Yes. The world's longest suspension bridge is currently the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge at 1,991 meters central span. :)

I LOVE that sketch with the Golden Gate and Messina side by side! The Messina bridge deck looks skeletal, very evolutionary. ;)

[Geroplatanos]

BRAVO ITALIA ! Amazing project !! :cheers:
I hope that everything goes well and in few years we can walk on this bridge which connects two very beautiful places like Calabria and Sicily !!!!


What title is Greece Losing? :?

Regarding your question untill the new bridge of Messina is ready RIO-ANTIRIO is the longest and biggest cable-stayed bridge , i wonder how you ignored this :)


http://www.gefyra.gr/English/Technique/images_02/Normandie.gif

http://www.gefyra.gr/English/Technique/images_02/Tatara.gif

http://www.gefyra.gr/English/Technique/images_02/GoldenGate.gif

http://www.gefyra.gr/English/Technique/images_02/RioAntirio.gif

[Kai Tak]

Regarding your question untill the new bridge of Messina is ready RIO-ANTIRIO is the longest and biggest cable-stayed bridge, i wonder how you ignored this :)

http://www.gefyra.gr/English/Technique/images_02/RioAntirio.gif
This bridge's length is 2252 m between the outside two piers. World's longest bridges are determined by the longest central main span. It is the world's longest cable-stayed bridge, and will remain so regardless of the Messina Bridge. ;)

[matthewcs]

Very pretty Bridge, but it's whitewash won't hold a candle to the Golden Gate. Does anyone know if the spaces between the lanes on the bridge can be filled in later as usage increases?

[Luka Trieste+Wroclaw]

Very pretty Bridge, but it's whitewash won't hold a candle to the Golden Gate. Does anyone know if the spaces between the lanes on the bridge can be filled in later as usage increases?

No, they won't.

Actually, it will not be possible to do so for anti-seismic reasons.

I'll try & collect some more material. For now, I got this information from an Italian magazine review about the Project.

I will stand in a very seismic area (disastrous earthquake in 1908) but it is being planned to resist almost any type of quake.

I also know that (and if you think that better it seems to be this way) the bridge will be a far more sure place than the land (Calabria and Sicily, which have an oldish urbanistic and road structure) in case of a quake.

Anyway, the technology used will be the top. There is just one point: the time schedule may not be the one planned. Less than 6 years is not so much and in that time lots of changes can happen (delays or even a cancellation of the project). For now it is a fascinating idea and a futuristic, yet real, project.

CIAO! :)

[empersouf]

Whoa, this monster will dwarf the Golden Gate.

[godblessbotox]

now this is a bridge! not like that hong kong deep bay link garbage! a proper bridge!

[godblessbotox]

...and its sexy to boot!

[IDigFla85]

Hey Geroplatonos, nice bridge comparision diagram. You would'nt happen to have a diagram for the Sunshine Skyway in Florida would you? I would like to see how that compares, being that is the longest cable stay in NAmerica.

[doka..dan]

I thought the largest suspension bridge in the world was in TELFORD!!!!!!!!!What do you WRECKON!!!!!

[doka..dan]

BRAVO ITALIA ! Amazing project !! :cheers:
I hope that everything goes well and in few years we can walk on this bridge which connects two very beautiful places like Calabria and Sicily !!!!




Regarding your question untill the new bridge of Messina is ready RIO-ANTIRIO is the longest and biggest cable-stayed bridge , i wonder how you ignored this :)


http://www.gefyra.gr/English/Technique/images_02/Normandie.gif

http://www.gefyra.gr/English/Technique/images_02/Tatara.gif

http://www.gefyra.gr/English/Technique/images_02/GoldenGate.gif

http://www.gefyra.gr/English/Technique/images_02/RioAntirio.gif

PS i didn't like Bending Moment Diagram to much...!!!!!!!!

[Skaros]

Hey Geroplatonos, nice bridge comparision diagram. You would'nt happen to have a diagram for the Sunshine Skyway in Florida would you? I would like to see how that compares, being that is the longest cable stay in NAmerica.

DigFla we talk about different things. :)

Definition of cable-stayed bridge :

Cable-Stayed Bridge -
a bridge in which the roadway deck is suspended from cables anchored to one or more towers

Sunshine Skyway has only 2 pylons that actually have this attribute of holding the cable-stayed suspended deck , the rest of the bridge is just normal structure .
Also take in consideration other factors not found in Sunshine bridge like :
Due to the peculiar conditions of the straits, several unique engineering solutions had to be found. The water depth reaches 65 m, the seabed is mostly of loose sediment, the seismic activity is significant(Rio seismic fault - corinth gulf one of the most active seismic zones on earth), and the Gulf of Corinth is expanding at a rate of about 30 mm a year...... the basements of the pylons are the largest ever constructed (90m)
So though the total length is ~8,5 Kms , only a very small part of it is cable stayed (~1,2 Km) (main longest span 365.8 meters)
On the other side Rio-Antirio bridge has the world's longest cable-stayed suspended deck


http://mechanics.civil.tohoku.ac.jp/~sugawara/photos/img0087.gif

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Dsc06226_rio_antirio_bridge_monniaux.jpg/800px-Dsc06226_rio_antirio_bridge_monniaux.jpg

By the way congratulations to Italy for this absolutely gigantic project , the island of Sicily with its glorious history , beautiful nature and its ~6 million population will finally have an adequate connection with mainland italy! :cheers:

[IDigFla85]

Hey Skaros, thanks for the clarification. I must say, I am impressed! You definately know your bridges. The reason I say is becuase I am very familiar with the skyway and you described it perfectly. Back to the Messina bridge, something that you must agree will be amazing will be watching the construction of the anchors at the ends. I imagine they will need to be absolutely gigantic in size! I mean imagine all that stress!

[GENIUS LOCI]

Back to the Messina bridge, something that you must agree will be amazing will be watching the construction of the anchors at the ends. I imagine they will need to be absolutely gigantic in size! I mean imagine all that stress!

http://www.strettodimessina.it/sistema_sospensione-e.html

http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_prog_preliminare/cavi.eng.gif

http://www.strettodimessina.it/blocchi_ancoraggi-e.html

http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_prog_preliminare/ancoraggi.eng.gif

http://www.strettodimessina.it/impalcato-e.html

http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_prog_preliminare/impalcato.eng.gif

http://www.strettodimessina.it/franconavigabile-e.html

http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_prog_preliminare/franconavigabile.eng.gif

http://www.strettodimessina.it/torri-e.html

http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_prog_preliminare/torri.eng.gif

http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_prog_preliminare/sez_long.gif

http://www.strettodimessina.it/fasi_costruzione-e.html

http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_prog_preliminare/fase1big.gif

Phase 1
Soil treatement, construction of anchor blocks and tower foundations.

Phase 2
Tower erection. Preparation and erection of structures and equipement for cable spinning.



http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_prog_preliminare/fase2big.gif

PHASE 3
Backward displacement of tower top (tie-back) in order to achieve the vertical position at the completion of bridge erection. Erection of pilot rope.



http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_prog_preliminare/fase3big.gif

Phase 4
Erection of temporary walkways (catwalk), where the cables are spun.

Phase 5
Spinning of individual parallel wires till the completion of main cable. Cable compaction. Erection of suspension elements (cable clamps and hangers). Completion of anchor blocks and construction of abutment structures at Sicily and Calabria sides.


http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_prog_preliminare/fase4big.gif

PHASE 6
Deck erection in Calabria and Sicily side spans. Deck sections are sea-transported are lifted from the main cables.



http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_prog_preliminare/fase5big.gif

PHASES 7 - 8 - 9
Deck erection in the main span. Prefabricated deck sections are sea-transported and lifted by special equipement running on the main cables. After erection of central at mid span and those adjacent to the towers, the activity carries on with four workings fronts.
During theses phases the system progressively reaches its final configuration, the tower top displacements are recovered, and final weldings between deck sections are carried out.




http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_prog_preliminare/fase6big.gif

Phase 10
Completion of deck erection in the main span and in the areas across the towers.

Phase 11
Permanent equipement installation on road and railway platforms (wind screens, gratings, truck, road surfacing etc.).
Cable finishing (wrapping, protective coatings, surface treatments), dismounting of temporary walkway (catwalk). Completion of control systems installation and signaling and bridge commissioning.



http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_prog_preliminare/satellite2.gif

http://www.strettodimessina.it/dati_tecnici-e.html

TECHNICAL DATA

GENERAL DATA

Length of the central span: 3.300 m.

Length of each side span: 183 m.

Rise/span ratio of the cables: 1/11

Road sections for each directions : 1 fast, 1 normal, 1 emergency

Railway sections: 2 tracks

Service sections : 2 independent lanes for service vehicles and pedestrians

Navigation channel : 65 m in the central large zone 600 m.;
50 m. in remaining zones

Maximum theorical traffic capacity: 3.000 vehicles/hour - 200 trains/day

DECK

Total length of the suspended deck: 3.666 m.

Total width: 60 m.

Structural weight: 17,5 t (per meter)

Total weight of steelwork: 66,500 t [u]

TOWERS

[u]Total height : 382 m.

Total weight of steelwork: 56.000 t (per tower)

Foundations Sicily side: 2 round plinths diameter 55 m

Foundations Calabria side: 2 round plinths diameter 48 m

Foundations volume Sicily side: 86.400 mc

Foundations volume Calabria side: 72.400 mc

SUSPENSION CABLES

Total length between anchorages: 5.300 m.

Number: 2 pairs

Diameter: 1.24 m

Composition: 44,352 wires diameter 5.38 mm

Total weight: 166,600 t

Anchor block's volume Sicily side: 328.000 mc

Anchor block's volume Calabria side: 237.000 mc



http://www.strettodimessina.it/Progettopreliminare-e.html

[GENIUS LOCI]

Notice that Messina Strait Bridge span is almost long as the spans of the current first two longest suspension bridges in the World added together

http://www.strettodimessina.it/PontiMenu-e.html

http://www.strettodimessina.it/img_ponti/ponti.sospesi.eng.gif

The World's Greatest Bridges


The World's Major Suspension Bridges

1 Akashi Kaikyo 1991 1998 Kobe-Naruto Route Japan
2 Great Belt East 1624 1998 Halsskov-Sprogoe Denmark
3 Humber 1410 1981 Kingston-upon-Hull U.K.
4 Jangyn 1385 1999 Jiangsu (Yangtze river) China
5 Tsing Ma 1377 1999 Hong Kong (Lantau Island) Hong Kong
6 Verrazano Narrows 1298 1964 New York City U.S.A.
7 Golden Gate 1280 1937 San Francisco U.S.A.
8 Hoga Kusten 1210 1997 Veda Sweden
9 Mackinac 1158 1957 Mackinaw City, Michigan U.S.A.
10 Minami (South) Bisan-Seto 1100 1988 Kojima-Sakaide Route Japan
11 Fatìh Sultan Mehemet (Bosporus II) 1090 1988 Istanbul Turkey
12 Ataturk (Bosporus I) 1074 1973 Istanbul Turkey
13 George Washington 1067 1931 New York City U.S.A.
14 3rd Kurushima 1030 1999 Onomichi-Imabari Route Japan
15 2nd Kurushima 1020 1999 Onomichi-Imabari Route Japan
16 Ponte 25 de Abril 1013 1966 Lisbon (Tago river) Portugal
17 Forth Road 1006 1965 Edimburgh U.K.
18 Kita Bisan-Seto 990 1988 Kojima-Sakaide Route Japan
19 Severn 988 1966 Bristol U.K.
20 Yichang 960 2001 Yichang (Yangtse river) China
21 Shimotsui-Seto 940 1988 Kojima-Sakaide Route Japan
22 Xiling 900 1996 Yichang (Yangtse river) China
23 Boca Tigris 888 1997 Pearl river (Guangdong prov.) China
24 Ohnaruto 876 1985 Kobe-Naruto Route Japan
25 Tacoma Narrows 853 1950 Tacoma, Washington U.S.A.
26 Askoy 850 1992 Bergen Norway
27 Innoshima 770 1983 Onomichi-Imabari Route Japan
28 Akinada 750 2000 Akinada Islands (Hiroshima Pref.) Japan
29 Semipalatinsk 750 2000 Semipalatinsk (Irtish river) Kazakhstan
30 Hakucho Ohashi 720 1998 Muroran (Hokkaido Pref.) Japan
31 Angostura 712 1967 Ciudad Bolivar Venezuela
32 Kanmon Strait 712 1973 Honshu-Kyushu Japan
33 West Bay 704 1936 San Francisco - Oakland U.S.A.
34 Bronx Whitestone 701 1939 New York City U.S.A.
35 Pierre Laporte 668 1970 Quebec City Canada
36 Delaware Memorial I 655 1951 Wilmington, Delaware U.S.A.
37 Delaware Memorial II 655 1968 Wilmington, Delaware U.S.A.
38 Seaway Skyway 655 1960 Ogdensburg, NewYork U.S.A.
39 Gjemnessundet 623 1992 Kristiansund Norway
40 Walt Whitman 610 1957 Philadelphia U.S.A.
41 Walt Whitman 608 1959 Le Havre France
42 New Little Belt 600 1970 Little Belt Denmark
43 1st Kurushima 600 1999 Onomichi-Imabari Route Japan
44 Rainbow 570 1993 Tokio Japan
45 Ambassador 564 1929 Detroit U.S.A.
46 Oshima 560 1988 Miyakubo-seto (Onomichi-Imabari R.) Japan
47 Throgs Neck 549 1961 New York City U.S.A.
48 Tokyo Harbor 540 1926 Tokio Japan
49 Benjamin Franklin 533 1926 Philadelphia U.S.A.
50 Skiomen 525 1972 Narvik Norway
51 Kvalsund 525 1977 Hammerfest Norway
52 Matadi 520 1983 SMatadi Zaire
53 Fengdu 500 1996 Sichuan (Yangtse river) China
54 Kleve-Emmerich 500 1965 Emmerich Germany
55 Bear Mountain 497 1924 Peekskill, New York U.S.A.
56 Williamsburg 488 1903 New York City U.S.A.
57 W. Preston Lane Memorial I 488 1952 Chesapeake Bay, Maryland U.S.A.
58 Newport 488 1969 Newport, Rhode Island U.S.A.
59 W. Preston Lane Memorial II 488 1973 Chesapeake Bay, Maryland U.S.A.
60 Brooklyn 486 1883 New York City U.S.A.
61 Lion's Gate 472 1938 Vancouver Canada
62 Sotra 468 1971 Bergen Norway
63 Hirado Ohashi 460 1977 Hirado Island Japan
64 Vincent Thomas 457 1963 San Pedro, California U.S.A.
65 Mid Hudson 456 1930 Poughkeepsie, N.Y. U.S.A.
66 Shantou Bay 452 1996 Guangdong prov. China
67 Manhattan 448 1909 New York City U.S.A.
68 Angus L. Mac Donald 441 1955 Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada
69 Murray Mac Kay 427 1970 Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada
70 Triborough 421 1936 New York City U.S.A.
71 Alvsborg 418 1966 Gothenburg Sweden
72 Hadong Namhae 404 1973 Pusan South Korea
73 Baclan 394 1967 Bordeaux France
74 Amu Daria River 390 1964 Buhara, Ural Russia
75 Royal Gorge 384 1929 Canon City, Colorado U.S.A.
76 Cologne Rodenkirchen 378 1954 Cologne Germany
77 St. Johns 368 1931 Portland, Oregon U.S.A.
78 Wakato Narrows 367 1962 Kitakyushu City Japan
79 Mount Hope 366 1929 Mount Hope Bay, Rhode Island U.S.A.
80 St. Lawrence 351 1960 Ogdensburg, New York U.S.A.
81 Hercilio Luz 340 1926 Florianopolis Island Brazil
82 Bidwell ar 338 1965 Oroville, California U.S.A.
83 Varodd 337 1956 Kristiansand Norway
84 Tamar 335 1961 England England
85 Deer Isle 329 1939 Penobscot Bay, Maine U.S.A.
86 Rombaks 325 1964 Nordland Norway
87 Maysville 323 1931 Maysville, Kentucky U.S.A.
88 Ile D'Orleans 323 1936 Quebec City Canada
89 John A. Roebling 322 1867 Cincinnati, Ohio U.S.A.
90 Otto Beit 320 1939 Chirundu Zimbabwe
91 Dent 320 1971 Orofino, Idaho U.S.A.
92 Cologne Mulheim 315 1951 Cologne Germany
93 Mampimi 314 1900 Mampimi Mexico
94 Wheeling 308 1849 Wheeling U.S.A.
95 Konohana-ohashi 300 1990 Osaka Japan
96 Elizabeth 290 1964 Budapest Hungary
97 Tjeldsund 290 1967 Bjerkvik Norway
98 Gran'Mere 289 1929 Quebec City Canada
99 Cauca River 287 1894 Colombia
100 Peace River 284 1950 Alberta, Saskatchewan Canada

[HiJazzey]

that's an incredible span :eek: !

[Burnout 3]

Wow i can't wait to drive over this marvelous structure!!!!

[Joshua888]

^^ that bridge is really nice

[Mackerel]

What a beautiful bridge....!! amazing.

Japan regretfull seems to loose the title.
We must find more wide channel in Japan.
But I guess there are no candidate place.

Please give us more wider channel.....:)

[Matthieu]

(bookmark this thread)

[Bahnsteig4]

Any idea how zhis will influence the ferry companies? What will become of them? There are like hundreds of ferries between Reggio/Villa San Giovanni and Messina each day with hundreds of employees.

[Matthieu]

As we're in a bridge penis contest, I have to say I heard about a project in the Gironde estuary in France that would be pretty huge if built.... only rumors so far.

[Mr. Maciek]

meh, longest bridges, tallest buldings.. you'll never keep up

[trainspotting]

This bridge is required in order to make the TEN 1st Corridor Berlin-Palerm, for the vertical axis starting from Germany and ends at the bottom of Italy, in the Peninsular Extension (The two last regions). First line.
The other infrastructure is the Brenner Basistunnel, wich connects Munich and Naples at first. We bet the Corridor will be made in 2015, between Palerm in Italy and Berlin in Germany.

Look here.

Trans European Network Corridors (http://www.infrastrutturetrasporti.it/page/standard/mop_all.php?p_id=01310&PHPSESSID=b040c82d505ae06450ac9077eb46b99f)

This map rocks, just like the longest bridge the human race ever planned to build.

[trainspotting]

On Monday March 27th 2006, the construction society IMPREGILO put its name on the contract, basic procedure to build the bridge linkin' between the two regions.
The executive project still must be approved until this year.

Good Job til now.

Status:

General Contractor: picked out, IMPREGILO, on October 12th 2005, contract secured on March 27th 2006 [EXECUTIVE PROJECT];

Project Management Consultant: picked out, PARSONS TRANSPORTATION GROUP, on November 16th 2005, contract secured two months later on January 16th 2006 [ADMINISTRATIVE PROJECT];

Environmental Monitor: picked out, FENICE, on January 23th 2006 [ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING];

Insurance Broker: picked out, MARSH, selected on December but became it on February 1st 2006 [INSURANCES].

The timetable:

next stage = Ultimate Project to be approved on this year.
last stage= Building Project to be executed up to year 2012.

Maybe by start from 2015 we'll talk about the High Speed Railway Berlin-Palerm... :) .

C ya.

[trainspotting]

http://www.impregilo.it/IMPREGILOIST/index.cfm?circuit=Main&name=CaricaOggetto&modalita=view&id=61595

walkthrudownload

JOINT PRESS RELEASE STRAITS BRIDGE: IMPREGILO AND STRETTO DI MESSINA CLOSE CONTRACT

The Stretto di Messina company and Impregilo, the lead company and agent for the temporary group of companies, today signed the contract assigning final and executive project planning and construction of the bridge over the Straits of Messina, and related rail and road links, to the General Contractor. The contract is worth 3.9 billion euro. It envisages ten months of work on the final and executive projects and 5 years of construction work.

The other members of the temporary group of companies led by Impregilo S.p.A. with a 45% share are Spain’s Sacyr S.A. (18.70%), the Italian companies Società Italiana per Condotte D’Acqua S.p.A. (15%) and Cooperativa Muratori & Cementisti-C.M.C. of Ravenna (13%), Japan’s Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (6.30%), Consorzio Stabile A.C.I. S.c.p.a (2%). The General Contractor will also be assisted by the Danish and Canadian companies Cowi A/S, Sund & Baelt A/S and Buckland & Taylor Ltd., who will be handling project engineering.

“The signature of the contract is the logical conclusion of the bid procedure after the final award decided by the Board of Directors of Stretto di Messina and the recent ruling of the regional administrative tribunal of Lazio rejecting the request for suspension,” commented Pietro Ciucci, Chief Executive Officer of Stretto di Messina. “In view of the value of the contract – more than 4 billion euro – and the unique nature of the project, this was an extremely complex operation and involved countless national and international players.”
“The first task for the General Contractor is to draw up the final project,” Ciucci added. “I am certain they will work closely with Stretto di Messina and the local authorities to take account of requirements and indications. At the same time, plans will also be drawn up for the ancillary works to be built in the area in which the bridge will be constructed, in order to optimise the social and economic effects of the bridge project for the local community. In parallel, the General Contractor will have to set up a local team and, as provided by the contract, organise the necessary professional training for local personnel. Completion of the final project, approval by Stretto di Messina and the start-up of the procedure prescribed under Italian law for final approval by the interministerial economic planning committee (CIPE) should all take place by the end of 2006.”

“We are delighted that with the closing of the contract we can begin work on project development,” said Alberto Lina, Impregilo Chief Executive Officer. “On one hand this is an important opportunity for infrastructure development and job creation in Sicily and Calabria; on the other, it provides Italian engineering and research with a unique showcase, here in Italy, for their expertise in the planning and construction of complex and technologically advanced infrastructures like the Straits of Messina bridge.”

[Skyman]

It's just huge stuff, nice to know it, thanks guys for the updates, keep us posted...

[909]

Are there any consequences for the bridge because of the result of the Italian elections?

[OettingerCroat]

^^ i sure hope not. besides, if prodi wins (which i hope he does), i think the bridge is more likely to be built.

[TOM123]

where is Italy?

What is a bridge?

cant we just swim across?
:runaway:

[Nick in Atlanta]

This bridge is required in order to make the TEN 1st Corridor Berlin-Palerm, for the vertical axis starting from Germany and ends at the bottom of Italy, in the Peninsular Extension (The two last regions). First line.
The other infrastructure is the Brenner Basistunnel, wich connects Munich and Naples at first. We bet the Corridor will be made in 2015, between Palerm in Italy and Berlin in Germany.

Look here.

Trans European Network Corridors (http://www.infrastrutturetrasporti.it/page/standard/mop_all.php?p_id=01310&PHPSESSID=b040c82d505ae06450ac9077eb46b99f)

This map rocks, just like the longest bridge the human race ever planned to build.

I couldn't see the map very well, but it looks as though the two main north-south and east-west transfer points are in Turin and Milan.

[trainspotting]

Prodi won (are u happy ?).
He doesn't hate the bridge, but however he does not reckon an high-priority artifact.

Even though he won't be able to stop the final procedure (if he'll think about to), above all his New Government is Lame !

Berlusconi Silvio, the opposite leader took half about chairs (with a lack of two chairs) in the legislature/senateonly, and a little over 50% polls.
Notwithstanding he's no longer the President (sorry about that).

The starting date said by call center is in the first half of 2007 with ten months to work out the final project, and the build time is about 5 years, at the end of 2012.

Keep in touch

[trainspotting]

Can you scroll down the Acrobat Reader page: Trans European Network (http://www.infrastrutturetrasporti.it/page/standard/mop_all.php?p_id=01310&PHPSESSID=b040c82d505ae06450ac9077eb46b99f) ? Use scrollbar

[trainspotting]

Rion-AntiRion Bridge ( Γέφυρα Pιοu-Αντίρριοu )

Here is an interesting site reporting another handsome bridge realized in 2004 as stable connection between Greece (mainland) and the Peloponnesus (a peninsular extension like Sicily).
The length is big, but shorter than our manufactured future artifact, as it wasn't for the four multiple pylons that constitute more spans along the channel-strait of the gulf of Corinto (in Rion), with a total length of 2252 meters.
However the design is different from our future artifact, that nevertheless it has been realized in 5 years and the definitive project elaborated in 2 years.
It is needed for the same purposes: crossing speed, raising economy, optimization for tourism, reduced distances, elimination of air and water pollution by the ferries (obsolete linking).
Another difference is that it hasn't railway, while ours will do.

Website: RION-ANTIRION BRIDGE (http://www.gefyra.gr/English/framesetbig.htm) .

Enjoy the view.

[Effer]

:applause:

[trainspotting]

:applause:
Lol, thx.
Sorry about plain details. :jk:

[earthJoker]

It seems Prodi burried this project, didn't he?

[HeMo]

Yes! The new Italian minister for transport Alessandro Bianchi killed the 6 billion Euro project stating that it would have been the most senseless and damaging in a hundred years.

[Scruffy88]

Wait, does this mean that this bridge will no longer happen?

[909]

Yes, it is cancelled by Prodi. Perhaps good for the tax-payers in Italy, but it sucks for us. ;)

[trainspotting]

Prodi Sux, like this new little government.
He promoted again the Communism, the old political doctrine that miserably subdue the liberal people (me too) <:( .

However before starting suspension procedure the new president must review the law which authorized Stretto consortium to make the preliminary project of the bridge. I hope they will fail to "touch" this act up.
And i hope these ones will go to home at the earliest.

This legislature is lame, but now they grabbed all institutional positions.

[GENIUS LOCI]

Yes, it is cancelled by Prodi. Perhaps good for the tax-payers in Italy, but it sucks for us. ;)
Maybe it's not good "enough" for the tax payers: Impregilo, who was the company who had to build it, can demand to the State more than 500 mln euros for refoundation

However: it's not official that Prodi's Governement will stop the project
For now we have only the "outings" of two different new ministers, one against and one in favour
I think at the end it will belong to Prodi himself to decide

I think it's possible he will say "the bridge is not prioritarian but we will do it the same way" modifing a little bit the project...

[Scruffy88]

damn. this was one of my favorite projects in the world

[HeMo]

Here an excerpt from an interview that infrstructur minister Di Pietro gave the Corriere della Sera

Apparantly the Itlaien ministry for Transport and Infrstructure has been divided into two ministries and already both ministers have different views!

EM: You normally speak clearly, but as regards infrastructure all the Centre Left seems ambiguous. Even in relation to the Bridge over the Straits, what does it mean that it isn’t a priority? You may as well say that it won’t go ahead.
ADP: The Bridge on its own would have no sense. To connect Trapani with Northern Europe isn’t feasible, but we need to see if the Bridge is a priority in relation to the Salerno-Reggio Calabria, to the Brescia-Milano, to the ring roads round the big cities. To simplify something into “This will be done and that won’t.” is a play on words that plays on the feelings of the citizens.

EM: The Transport Minister, Alessandro Bianchi, has been clear. He said the Bridge will not be done.
ADP: This is not something I decide, nor do any of the other individual Ministers decide. It’s a decision to be taken by the whole Government and by Parliament. That is why I talk of hurried declarations. There’s no conflict between Bianchi and me. In fact we are going to meet up on Monday to discuss who is going to deal with what. It’ll be necessary to turn to the Ministry of Public Works for some things and to the Transport Ministry for others.

[Scruffy88]

that doesn't do anything to restore my confidence that this will ever get built. damn. i am so disapointed in Italy right now

[Deadeye Reloaded]

Is should be possible to use the positive atmosphere in Italy after winning the World Cup to mobilize the government to build this bridge! :)

[firulais2005]

So is it going to be built? Just hope it will

[GENIUS LOCI]

Italy drops Sicily bridge plans

The bridge has been lauded and criticised in equal measure
Italy has abandoned controversial plans to build a bridge between the country's mainland and the island of Sicily.
The structure would have crossed the Messina Straits, forming the world's longest single-span suspension bridge.

But Italian MPs voted to scrap the proposed construction, saying they had other priorities for Italy's impoverished southern island.

There were also concerns that organised crime networks could hijack the lucrative project.

A total of 272 MPs voted in favour of abandoning the bridge proposal, while 232 voted to continue.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043626.stm

[Matthieu]

:cry:

That's a disgrace, I wanted to see that bridge so much!!!

[GENIUS LOCI]

Unfortunately the bridge became a big subject for political clashes
In some way it became (irrationally :bash: ) a pro-Berlusconi or anti-Berlusconi deal
The current Government during the electoral campaign said it would have cancelled the bridge and he did it :(

I thought that after all they would have start to build the bridge anyway (as I said previously in the thread), infact even now some of the components of the Government says they are just "delaing" the construction which they do not consider, for political convinience, I suppose, a priority...

The truth is that with the almost tie this parlamentarian majority won the polls part even little of the coalition, as Green Party, become fondamental for the Government not to fall down
Unfortunately this means many concessions to Green "ideological" deals, as the Bridge on the Strait, but even High Speed Railways (delaied in Val di Susa) or other infrastructures :sleepy:

Anyway... back to the Bridge they didn't think enough IMO at damages thy'll have to refund to Impregilo, which had to build the bridge: we talk about hundreds of million euros
The Government says they haven't to pay the penalties forecasted by the contract: but I think they're wrong
In the end if it will be established they have to pay, what is very very likely, they've more convenience to build the bridge, haven't they?

[DonQui]

How, Mediterranean.

:S

[Justme]

The truth is that with the almost tie this parlamentarian majority won the polls part even little of the coalition, as Green Party, become fondamental for the Government not to fall down
Unfortunately this means many concessions to Green "ideological" deals, as the Bridge on the Strait, but even High Speed Railways (delaied in Val di Susa) or other infrastructures :sleepy:


Are the greens in Italy against High Speed Rail as well?

[GENIUS LOCI]

^^
It could seem incredible, but they are
Do you remember the clashes in Val di Susa in March? They came at the end of a demonstration against HSR Turin-Lyon that has to cross the valley
Apart various local political subjects (as many mayors of the valley), NIMBY as usual, the parties which officially support the protesters are Rifondazione Comunista (Communist Refoundation), Comunisti Italiani (Italian Communists) and Verdi (Green Party), all members of the coalition now at the Government

During the protests in Spring and after the support of Italian Green Party to 'em, French Green party of a valley off the border involved in Turin-Lyon HS project strongly criticized its Italian "homologous" saying it didn't understand why a green party is against the train; railways 've ever been the "warhorse" of greens against cars predominion

[Justme]

^^^ most bizzare.

The communists I can understand. During the period when communisim controlled many country's, the freedom to travel long distances within one's own country was virtually banned, and required government approval. Natually, the idea of high speed rail goes against this policy.

But Greens? I knew they were mad and illogical, but this is just simply amazing. What will it take to please them???

[GENIUS LOCI]

^^^ most bizzare.

The communists I can understand. During the period when communisim controlled many country's, the freedom to travel long distances within one's own country was virtually banned, and required government approval. Natually, the idea of high speed rail goes against this policy.

But Greens? I knew they were mad and illogical, but this is just simply amazing. What will it take to please them???This:

http://www.rit.edu/~antnvc/Roccellacomera/image/asino.jpg

Maybe.. but maybe they'll find a mule pollutes too much

I think they inittially try, for political reasons, to use NIMBYs "displeasure" to have votes and "power" in centre-left coalition
But now I think they totally lost theirselves in a complete total ideological NIMBY thought that only brings to a do-nothing policy

[GENIUS LOCI]

^^
P.S.
To confirm my statement I want to add a datus

Do you know Greens in Italy are even against wind mills which produce electrical power?
They say they "pollute" the landscape

Nothing to add :sleepy:

[Nouvellecosse]

The World's Major Suspension Bridges

...
68 Angus L. Mac Donald 441 1955 Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada
69 Murray Mac Kay 427 1970 Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada
...

Hangin in there! :cheer:

[GENIUS LOCI]

A strange news today on Italian main newspaper Corriere della Sera

The Governement authorized Impregilo,the company which won the contract to build the bridge, to begin to build accessory works at the bridge

What could it mean?
Maybe, for political reasons and internal stability, Governement "pretended" to cancel the Bridge but it wants to build it actually

Maintaining a very low profile and in some way tricking Prodi's Green and Communist allies
But this is just an interpretation of mine

[SYDNEYAHOLIC]

I really do hope that they build the bridge

but what about the sensitive environment around the bridge???

is there a way of building the approaches differently so as to make the least impact possible???

just a thought

[Deadeye Reloaded]

Nice to hear that the bridge will be build AND that my thread wont disappear :nocrook:.

Please visit my other mega-über-project thread about the longest rail tunnel in the world (Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland) in the urban transport section.


Europe kicks ass! :righton:

[Matthieu]

It is cancelled or it'll be build?

[TopperCity]

I really wanna see this gorgeous bridge be built.

[GENIUS LOCI]

It is cancelled or it'll be build?Tecnically governement 'suspended' the project (to suspend a suspension bridge is quite funny though...)
Part of the gvt coalition wanted the bridge to be deleted and part wanted the bridge to be built: but they all announced that to build the bridge is not prioritarian (I think that the ones who wants the bridge but say it's not prioritarian do that only for political reasons: not to have problems with their political allies and bacause during the years, for many in some way strange reasons, the 'political message' you gave in being "for" the bridge to be built was to be pro-Berlusconi, and to be against the bridge meant to be against Berlusconi.... how insane politicians can be!)

Well. So they used the money previously allocated (by Berlusconi) for the bridge to build other "more useful" (definition of the governement) infrastructures for Southern Italy; I didn't understand yet where the money will be spent though, apart for the completion of A3 highway (I thought it was financed yet...) and other two secondarian road links that hardly I see as 'prioritarian'

Officially, then, the bridge is not financed...
But, as i said several posts ago, strangely the government (with part of the money allocated for the bridge) authorized who won the competition for its costruction to build the preparatory works

Very very strange

I have this interpretation: if the project for the costruction of the bridge wouldn't be suspended, now they're going to build the preparatory works and in a coupple of years (minimum) they will start the 'true' build-up of the suspension bridge (it's a very complex and enormous project: the preparation needs to be long)
On the contrary they said they suspended the project: so what did happen?
Now they're going to build the preparatory works (the same!)
Then it could be that in a coupple of years (when political reasons for the sospension won't exist anymore or something) they will finance again the bridge and start with the true works
Exactly the same as they kept on with the project
They were a little bit tricky for political reasons and for a 'public opinion' matter, but actually, for now, they're building the bridge just in time as forecasted

Obviously that's only my interpretation, a sort of overlook behind the scenes.
Things could carry out in another direction

It's very very complicated and full of uncertainty: it's Italian policy nowadays. Sorry :bash:

[trainspotting]

mod edit

[Taylorhoge]

love the design and the color the deck of it is very a modern design

[AhChuan]

Woww!! Cant believe it bigger than The Golden Gate...

[Paddington]

Woww!! Cant believe it bigger than The Golden Gate...

Actually there's lots of suspension bridges bigger than the Golden Gate bridge, including the Verazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York, which is America's largest.

[Geokioy]

It seems to be a very demanding project, but I'm sure it worths the try:cheers:

[trainspotting]

mod edit:

[RSG]

I love this bridge. It is good to see extreme engineering projects still going on in all parts of the world. Fantastic. I hope some our friendly Italian forumers can create a construction thread and take photos of it being built.

[IDigFla85]

Sorry RSG, maybe you can't read the above, but sadly this bridge is not happening anytime soon.

[Matthieu]

Seems like it's trully dead now

[pilotos]

A really nice and huge bridge, so its not going to be a reallity though eh?:(

[trainspotting]

A really nice and huge bridge, so its not going to be a reallity though eh?:(

Tell Prodi, actually the italian president, why he got enslaved by his same coalition members, the extreme ideologism of Communists and Greens.
As i noticed, i got ashamed about my State. Where just are we gonna go in the next future ?

[Peloso]

Tell Prodi, actually the italian president, why he got enslaved by his same coalition members, the extreme ideologism of Communists and Greens.
As i noticed, i got ashamed about my State. Where just are we gonna go in the next future ?Yes, Berlusconi and his mafiosi (Cuffaro, Miccichè, etc.) were way better. :hilarious
By the way, have you seen the special report on the bridge project made by... Report, the Italian state tv program? It explained very well how the feasibility studies were insufficient and ultimately fake (let's remember the bridge is supposed to be built in a highly seismic area).

[GENIUS LOCI]

I hope some our friendly Italian forumers can create a construction thread and take photos of it being built.It would be easier if they build it :)

[trainspotting]

mod edit

[s a s h a]

beautiful but too expensive .. Italy has other priorities.

[Tubeman]

U must STFU, idiot. You're another W.O.P. who still believes that Communism is the ordinary time, in the year 2007 in our country.
I won't spend more time to explain to Noobz how efficient is the Enginery, origins apart. Many Bridges were built around the world, even in Japan (Akashi/Kaykio Bridge) and Greece (Rion-AntiRion Bridge) in Very Sismic Areas.
I got enough about excuses and worthless rumors about "insufficient studies" for the Bridge. And We know it's buildable... nuff said.

This sort of language is utterly unacceptable

Please keep politics out of this thread, too

[Prestonian]

Shame to see such a large feat of engineering abandoned but so far as I know it never really was a particularly viable plan. The benefits were only fairly modest compared to the cost and many thought the money could be better spent. As mentioned above the safety of the bridge given seismic activity was also questioned. It always seemed like a particularly extravagant design, multi span bridges are now much more common and often cheaper - was this simply not an option here?

[Gaeus]

Thats such an innovative design. Totally Breath-taking! I can't believe they suspended it. If the government system is just like Dubai or China, construction must be starting right now or even half-way through.





Hmm. Maybe Dubai can build one. They just need to build an island at the other end :nuts: :lol: :nuts: :lol: :nuts:

NOTE:

I'm just kidding (woke up at 2:00 AM in Monday Morning and I can't sleep back). :bash: :bash: :bash:

[Geokioy]

I wonder if there is any plan for a tunnel connection instead of a bridge...Maybe it could be constructed more easily and face less future problems (such as earthquakes, strong winds, maintainance cost) in comparison to a bridge.

[pilotos]

Probably the sea bed is deep enough not to allow an easy tunnel construction.

[trainspotting]

Probably the sea bed is deep enough not to allow an easy tunnel construction.

It's true. Everybody refused a two spans bridge, due to the erosion of the waters in the channel, which means too much maintenance to ensure viaduct safety. And the seabed is too deep for those towers. Teh only possible project is a bridge with only one span, and 4 massive cables, tallest pylons and lightered structure.

[pilotos]

It's true. Everybody refused a two spans bridge, due to the erosion of the waters in the channel, which means too much maintenance to ensure viaduct safety. And the seabed is too deep for those towers. Teh only possible project is a bridge with only one span, and 4 massive cables, tallest pylons and lightered structure.

Actually it seems that the sea depth at the point of messina strait is 72m, which would allow even a pylon to be build in the water, but wasn't the plan to build only two pylons, which would have been located in the land?

And about the concerns for the impact of the earthquakes, it seems that the only bridge that has been build into a region like this is the one in rio-antirio, which is a cable stayed bridge though and not a suspension, so did they also considered a bridge like this?

[trainspotting]

The most deep point is close to 100 meters, and a pylon on the half path in the center of the bridge is not so cheap and safe for a structure like that.
With some (or many) issues it can be built, but the project scheme does not show a two-span viaduct.

[choyak]

This is sickening to me if this awesome bridge is cancelled. WTF are teh 'greens' in on this. UMM I think that FERRIES using DIESEL and polluting the water alot more than trains and cars travelling on a bridge. I suspect that there is some collusion with refineries that produce diesel. This bridge, if built will be the most beautiful structure, and even if the height is what over 300m, Villieu viaduct already has pylons over 300m so it si technically feasible to build this!!

Please build this!!!!!

[trainspotting]

This is sickening to me if this awesome bridge is cancelled. WTF are teh 'greens' in on this. UMM I think that FERRIES using DIESEL and polluting the water alot more than trains and cars travelling on a bridge. I suspect that there is some collusion with refineries that produce diesel. This bridge, if built will be the most beautiful structure, and even if the height is what over 300m, Villieu viaduct already has pylons over 300m so it si technically feasible to build this!!

Please build this!!!!!

Go ask 'em which is the meaning of "Green" and "Peace" (Green-Peace ?!?). I must admit and i got ashamed about that: our government is the worst of the story about our country, and no way to insist 'em about the objectives of this infrastructure. They will never understand... the only solution is that they go home !

[Gary_A_Hill]

... multi span bridges are now much more common ...
I don't believe this is true, in the category of suspension bridges. There is only one large two-span suspension bridge in the U.S. (San Francisco Bay) and many conventional single-span suspension bridges. There is at least one in Japan, but many single-span suspension bridges.

The optimal type and configuration of any bridge is usually determined by the constraints of the problem: minimum width of channel, required clearance, depth of channel, foundation conditions, nature of water traffic, bridge traffic, etc. I expect that a single long span suspension bridge was chosen because that is the optimal type from an engineering standpoint, all things considered.

[LosAngelesMetroBoy]

This is sickening to me if this awesome bridge is cancelled. WTF are teh 'greens' in on this. UMM I think that FERRIES using DIESEL and polluting the water alot more than trains and cars travelling on a bridge. I suspect that there is some collusion with refineries that produce diesel. This bridge, if built will be the most beautiful structure, and even if the height is what over 300m, Villieu viaduct already has pylons over 300m so it si technically feasible to build this!!

Please build this!!!!!

Diesel is better for the enviroment than gasoline (assuming there are carbon filters)

[trainspotting]

Diesel ?
I prefer Hydrogen like fuel for cars and trucks, and electricity for trainz;
The first scenario will come after the construction of the bridge.

[Jim856796]

Now that the bridge has been cancelled, don't you think a tunnel shoild be built on the Strait of Messina?

[trainspotting]

It's not cancelled. It's stopped but with contracts still on and the Consorptium still alive. This government only redirected a portion of funds from it to other useful works in the southern italy: SS106 and Subways. It doesn't mean that the bridge will never be built, unless they delete a law made on 1971 that allows Italy to build the Bridge, but they didn't delete it. Di Pietro and the opposition together avoided half bilion of penalty fee by refusing the Comunists plans to stop all procedures and throw away years of studies for ideological reasons !
That doesn't mean that the bridge wil be built nor won't be built.
If Prodi goes home like everyone would, and a new government rules, thare are some probabilities that it can be refunded and works can start.
I dunno. But the project is still alive in order to avoid pay huge sums to be delivered to Impregilo and other contractors: Parson's Trans Group Inc., Fenice and Marsh S.p.A.
The website is temporarily obfuscated however.

[FM 2258]

I remember when I visited Catania earlier this year I thought there was a way to drive to Reggio Di Calabria but instead decided to explore Mt. Etna. I wonder how well the ferry system is working for people today.

[PopolVuh!]

this is incredible...

[anonymous_filipino]

with Romano Prodi gone, and if the President of Italy declares an election and Berlusconi wins again, expect this bridge project to be revived

[anonymous_filipino]

Now that Silvio Berlusconi is reelected as prime minister of Italy, will this project become a reality now? Will it soon start construction?

[GENIUS LOCI]

^^
That news was just released

PONTE STRETTO: BERLUSCONI "LAVORI INIZIERANNO PRESTO"
ROMA (ITALPRESS) - "Il cantiere per l'avvio dei lavori per il ponte sullo Stretto aprira' presto, oggi posso dire di essermene sempre interessato, anche se fino all'altro ieri non ho voluto dirlo apertamente per scaramanzia". Lo ha detto il premier in pectore, Silvio Berlusconi, parlando durante la conferenza stampa con i leader della maggioranza che ha vinto le elezioni, rivolgendosi a Raffaele Lombardo che gli era accanto. (ITALPRESS).


A fast translation: Berlusconi says the bridge will be soon u/c

[Matthieu]

^^ wow, but really soon?

[GENIUS LOCI]

^^ 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 :D

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 :bash: (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]

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/2008/04/15/business/itecon.php

Berlusconi's victory gives some Italian stocks a boost

http://img.iht.com/images/2008/04/15/silvio-265.jpg

[...]

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/default.asp?id=1&ACT=5&content=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.

:banana2::banana2::cheer::cheer::cheer::pepper::pepper::dance::pepper::pepper::cheer::cheer::cheer::banana2::banana2:

[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]

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]

Thats some really great news!

:yes: :yes: :yes:

[Dan1113]

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

[trainspotting]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[trainspotting]

Il prezzo di 6 Miliardi non mi impressiona più di tanto, perchè sono spesi bene ;), ed io mi fido per ora. Cerca piuttosto di non esagerare con le critiche verso una società che fa opere in tutto il mondo.

[s a s h a]

si si proprio bene... non abbiamo nemmeno i soldi per la benzina delle FdO, ci scappano i ricercatori perchè non si investe nulla sulla ricerca eppure i 6 miliardi per il ponticello si sono trovati..

A proposito di Impregilo ti consiglio di informati meglio ;)

Discarica di Chiaiano di Proprietà della stessa impresa che ha creato la crisi rifiuti
http://www.hwupgrade.it/forum/showthread.php?t=1751159


Impregilo colpevole di corruzione per la costruzione di una diga
Sabato, 09 settembre 2006

La “nuova” Impregilo ha ammesso le responsabilità della vecchia società nel processo per corruzione in merito all’aggiudicazione di appalti per il Lesotho Highlands Water Project, il progetto di gestione delle acque più importante al mondo dopo la diga delle Tre Gole in Cina. Per aver interferito al corso della giustizia, impedendo l’acquisizione di una serie di documenti che avrebbero fatto luce sui pagamenti illeciti eseguiti negli anni novanta dall’intermediario della “vecchia” Impregilo, il tribunale del piccolo Paese africano ha imposto all’importante impresa di costruzioni italiana il pagamento della somma di 15 milioni di rand, ovvero circa 1,5 milioni di euro - riporta la Campagna per la Riforma della Banca mondiale (CRBM).

Il progetto del Lesotho Highlands Water Project – le cui due dighe maggiori sono quella diKatse e quella di Mohale Dam - ha oramai una storia pluriennale e si intreccia da tempo con il caso di corruzione che vede coinvolte 14 multinazionali del settore delle infrastrutture di numerosi paesi occidentali. Finanziamenti per l’opera, che ha un valore complessivo di oltre 4 miliardi di dollari, sono stati erogati anche da istituzioni pubbliche come la Banca mondiale, la Banca europea per gli investimenti (con fondi per 122,5 milioni di euro) e le principali agenzie di credito all’esportazione europee, tra cui l’italiana Sace e le sue corrispettive in Francia, Gran Bretagna e Germania. Le prime due sentenze per la canadese Acres International e la tedesca Lahmeyer sono già state formulate con condanne a pagamenti di sanzioni per aver versato mazzette al fine di aggiudicarsi l’appalto, che ammontano rispettivamente a circa 2 milioni e a 670mila dollari.

La Campagna per la riforma della banca mondiale (Crbm), organizzazione che segue da anni la vicenda, sottolinea come la Banca mondiale si sia a lungo opposta alla sostituzione dell'ex direttore Sole e abbia assolto con molta fretta, dopo un'indagine interna, i funzionari incaricati di seguire il progetto. Il destinatario di più di 2 milioni di dollari in tangenti, un pubblico ufficiale del Lesotho di nome Sole, è poi stato condannato a 18 anni di prigione, mentre le compagnie sono ora singolarmente a processo.

“Mentre il Presidente della Banca mondiale Paul Wolfowitz combatte la corruzione solo a parole, i coraggiosi magistrati di un piccolo Paese africano muovono condanne esemplari, che mostrano come le multinazionali nell’ambito dei progetti finanziati dalla Banca siano una delle maggiori cause della corruzione a danno dei poveri del pianeta” ha dichiarato Antonio Tricarico, coordinatore della CRBM. E’ palese che l’Impregilo ha ostacolato chi voleva fare giustizia anche in nome dei poveri del Lesotho che ancora aspettano benefici dal mega-progetto. La Banca mondiale nello spirito delle sue lineeguida contro la corruzione, ne deve prendere atto e conseguentemente sanzionare l’impresa italiana” - ha concluso Tricarico.
(canisciolti.info)


“Signor Presidente della Repubblica Italiana,
permettetemi, grato, per la benevola accoglienza che un giorno avete fatto, di inviarmi la vostra approvazione per mia la raccolta di testimonianze sul precariato, di dirvi che la Vostra stella, se felice fino ad ora, è minacciata dalla più offensiva ed inqualificabile delle macchie. Ma quale macchia di fango sul Vostro nome, stavo per dire sulla Repubblica che rappresentate, soltanto quell'abominevole affare della Campania!
Per ordine di un Consiglio dei ministri, la gestione criminale dello smaltimento dei rifiuti in Campania degli ultimi venti anni è stata trasformata in un problema di ordine pubblico, ignorando la verità e qualsiasi giustizia. È finita, l’Italia ha sulla guancia questa macchia, la Storia scriverà che sotto la Vostra presidenza non è stato punito questo crimine sociale. E poiché è stato osato, oserò anche io. La verità, la dirò io, la chiederò io, poiché ho promesso di dirla e di cercarla, se la giustizia, regolarmente osservata non la proclamasse interamente. Il mio dovere è di parlare, non voglio essere complice. Le mie notti sarebbero abitate dallo spirito delle persone innocenti che espiano colpe non loro. Ed è a Voi signor Presidente, che io griderò questa verità.
Per prima cosa, la verità sulle discariche dei rifiuti industriali delle aziende del nord Italia sepolte in discariche abusive dalla Camorra. La verità sull’aumento dei tumori nel triangolo della morte di Nola, Acerra e Marigliano. La verità sulle sostanze radioattive, sui rifiuti cancerogeni scaricati alla luce del sole, in modo incessante, con i camion, dove le autorità non potevano non sapere. Emma Marcegaglia stanzi un fondo della Confindustria per la bonifica a carico delle aziende che hanno inquinato la Campania, se così non fosse, sia lo Stato a ricercare i responsabili, a liquidare le loro aziende e destinare i proventi a un Commissariato sotto la Sua autorità.
Per seconda cosa, la verità sulle connivenze tra la Camorra e le istituzioni in Campania, sulla gestione dei politici che hanno devastato la Sua regione in questi anni, sulle assunzioni clientelari, sulle coperture di partito bipartisan, sulla mancata destituzione del Presidente della Regione Antonio Bassolino, sotto processo per il ruolo di commissario per l’emergenza rifiuti insieme a Pier Giorgio Romiti, ex amministratore delegato della Impregilo e ad altri nomi eccellenti. La verità sulla mancata destituzione di Rosa Russo Jervolino, sindaco di Napoli, alla quale si può imputare, senza ombra di dubbio, una totale incapacità come amministratrice per l’emergenza rifiuti. La verità sulla mancata ricerca dei responsabili delle decine di società di smaltimento dei rifiuti, così vicini ai politici e per questo inamovibili. La verità sulla loro mancata sostituzione di fronte all’evidenza del disastro annunciato.
Per terza cosa, la verità sui fondi europei, sui miliardi di euro destinati alla Campania in questi molti anni. La verità sul loro ammontare, sulla loro destinazione, sul loro utilizzo, su chi li ha gestiti, sui depuratori non funzionanti e, forse, neppure avviati, sulle bonifiche dei siti inquinati mai portate a termine, sulle strutture inesistenti per la raccolta differenziata, sugli impianti per il riciclo di carta, vetro, plastica che dovrebbero esserci, ma non ci sono.
Solo dopo l’accertamento di queste verità, si potrà procedere a porre sotto segreto di Stato le discariche, a militarizzare la Campania, a inviare la Polizia contro i cittadini, anche a manganellarli, se necessario. Solo dopo l’accertamento di queste verità si potrà pretendere dai campani un comportamento rigoroso, ispirato alla correttezza civile senza alcuno sconto verso le Istituzioni e verso la propria coscienza. Solo dopo l’accertamento di queste verità, caro Presidente, solo dopo la cacciata dei primi responsabili politici dello sfascio, si potranno chiedere sacrifici ai cittadini, prima si devono porgere loro le scuse dello Stato che non ha saputo proteggerli e che oggi li criminalizza.
Quanto alla gente che accuso, non ho contro di loro né rancore né odio. Sono per me solo entità, spiriti di malcostume sociale. E l'atto che io compio non è che un mezzo per accelerare l'esplosione della verità e della giustizia. Ho soltanto una passione, quella della luce, in nome dell'umanità che ha tanto sofferto e che ha diritto alla felicità. La mia protesta infiammata non è che il grido della mia anima.
Vogliate gradire, signor Presidente, l'assicurazione del mio profondo rispetto.” Beppe Grillo

Lettera liberamente ispirata a "J'accuse" di Emile Zola.

24.05.2008

[trainspotting]

se', seh Beppe Grillo, porta la sua firma.

[s a s h a]

E' l'unica risposta che sai dare?

[trainspotting]

E' l'unica risposta che sai dare?

Parliamone in un forum Italiano innanzitutto *. Quì in questo thread chiudo nel parlare così.
E poi io non mi fido mai di quello che dice un politicante non-politico cme Beppe Grillo. Quelle sono solo chiacchiere
Quello che contano sono i fatti, e solo allora potrò esprimere una vera ed accurata valutazione sui risultati, alla fine.
Riguardo le colpe sappi che nessuna società è perfetta, e i rischi finanziari ci possono essere in tutto ciò che fanno. Ciò non toglie che Impregilo è ancora in corsa per la costruzione del ponte; io mi fido almeno per ora. Io prenderei le informazioni da fonti attendibili e non da militanti che si ispirano al fanatismo sociale, o pure socialista in certi casi.

[Falcon83]

what about writing in english?

[ChrisZwolle]

^^ Good idea. Italian is like Chinese to me.

[trainspotting]

* Line will be drawn here !!

[GENIUS LOCI]

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

Il prezzo di 6 Miliardi non mi impressiona più di tanto, perchè sono spesi bene ;), ed io mi fido per ora. Cerca piuttosto di non esagerare con le critiche verso una società che fa opere in tutto il mondo.

There is a proper thread in Italian section if you wanted to talked about it in Italina, please

Just in English in this forum, please

[city_thing]

^^ Thanks Genius_Loci.

It's hard for us people that are interested in the bridge to keep up with new information when it's written in Italian :)

[trainspotting]

There is a proper thread in Italian section if you wanted to talked about it in Italina, please

Just in English in this forum, please

Say it once, please; i don't deserve these nags.

[trainspotting]

^^ Thanks Genius_Loci.

It's hard for us people that are interested in the bridge to keep up with new information when it's written in Italian :)

What are u gonna miss ? The griffin guy didn't speak about useful informations.

[trainspotting]

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

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This guy started the italian conversantion at first. Without him i wasn't speakin so. I'm sorry. Instinctively i used my language because i post comments also in the italian thread version. A much time later when i saw one who wrote italian, i got confused and i wrote in italia too for mistake.
However, admin is authorized to del last non-original posts. REMOVE 'EM IF THEY CONFUSE YA INSTEAD OF ATTEMPTING TO "DECODE" THOSE WORDS !

[trainspotting]

MESSNA STRAIT VIADUCT: PROJECT RESUMED NOW !! THE BUILDING CONSORPTIUM HAS BEEN RESTARTED AFTER IT WAS FROZEN BY PRODI IN OCTOBER 2007 !!
THEY PLANNED TO APPROVE THE FINAL PROJECT ON JANUARY 2009 OR ON A SIMILAR DATE, AND START TO BUILD IT INTO 2010.

[Dan1113]

How exciting. :) How long would it take to build it?

[trainspotting]

How exciting. :) How long would it take to build it?

First all, they need to review the contract with IMPREGILO in order to update their schemes, then we can take off the final projectation and the work phase, not before the half of 2010.
Over five years and they could finish it on 2016.

[ennirob]

First all, they need to review the contract with IMPREGILO in order to update their schemes, then we can take off the final projectation and the work phase, not before the half of 2010.
Over five years and they could finish it on 2016.

But before the bridge, the highways in Calabria, are finished ? (Salerno Reggio Calabria ??? We can open a post only for this highway) And in Sicily, are there an highways with all european standards (not italian standards) ? And the train ?

Have you read the sicily's newspapers ? From Palermo to Siracusa, in train do you need about 12:15 hour (the newspapaper of Gela write last year that from Palermo to Dubai do you need 9 hours)

Only in Italy, in a big city (Rome) in the new suburbs were first built gigantic buildings, and not entirely finished roads, trams and services, etc. ..: bash:

There are no private interests as BreBeMi road, this bridge? No, it's too expensive without actual return, both economically and for the territory, because there is no interest to complete the bridge, but only to take the money first, without work ...

Bye

[trainspotting]

There are no private interests as BreBeMi road, this bridge? No, it's too expensive without actual return, both economically and for the territory, because there is no interest to complete the bridge, but only to take the money first, without work ...

Bye

LMAO !
Only italians may say that, and they make other states and countries think about how much critical the situation is in this land, because of the stupidity of a few citizens who don't trust the Parson's Transportation Group American Projectists and Europeans too. International Cooperatives with IMPREGILO decided to build that, and of course you cannot dictate what is to be build or ain't ! I am a good-sense italian. I say OK to the growth !

[ennirob]

LMAO !
Only italians may say that, and they make other states and countries think about how much critical the situation is in this land, because of the stupidity of a few citizens who don't trust the Parson's Transportation Group American Projectists and Europeans too. International Cooperatives with IMPREGILO decided to build that, and of course you cannot dictate what is to be build or ain't ! I am a good-sense italian. I say OK to the growth !

There many modes to "say ok to the growth"... TAV it's OK but the bridge NO ... in this moment no. Not just an office of planning or advice abroad to heal the reputation of a company not too clear ... Let's not make it too long, how come there is the row of foreign firms for projects Italians?
Given that you know so long to ask their offices why not line up in a public notice ... ask someone who builds and not those who reported the information. You have ever worked with major groups and with public administrations? If so, certain things you should know, if not know then, both today has not changed much the situation.

PS: I have worked there and we still work if they want to know.

Ciao

[trainspotting]

No to Bridge ? This must be a cheap declaration, from who wanna deceive other ppl, make they imagine how about you care only about yourself and your territory.
Matteoli (Trans Minister) and La Loggia (Deputate) said that will not choose what to build, cuz "it must be built TAV and the Strait Bridge with Brenner BasisTunnel together".
About the Strait Consorptium:
They're still renewing the corporate convention, it's still too early i no; Mr. Pietro Ciucci will say ok to proceed to IMPREGILO after the update was finished. That's why we can't know more else news.
The bridge is necessary to make the HST come from Berlin to Palermo with stops in the larger cities stations only like Naples before the final destination, because they wanna build the whole 1st European Corridor. U don't know anything instead.
U're nut if u think that it changes in a few days.
Mr. Pietro Ciucci (ANAStretto Manager) told that on 2009 they're starting to perform the final project. And 2010 probably they start to build it; else a five millions penal for us ! But it won't happen, i no.
As ANSA, Kataweb or the Impregilo website spread news i'll bump it on here ! Please be patient.

[Matthieu]

I'm concerned about the cost of the things, I remember the European Commission had decided it was not a priority and would not finance it. Did they change their mind since? If not Italy will have to pay it all alone and it could easily be the most expensive bridge in the world.

[ennirob]

I'm concerned about the cost of the things, I remember the European Commission had decided it was not a priority and would not finance it. Did they change their mind since? If not Italy will have to pay it all alone and it could easily be the most expensive bridge in the world.

And the loop it's closed...Impregilo have a contract...Italy don't have the money...but there is a penal :bash: It's incredible :ohno:

Again I request an answer ? Why will built a bridge without an highway from both the side ? Do you know how many money and time do we need to finish the higway Salerno Reggio Calabria ? Finished it with the project of 1970, not with a new project! Attention...much money arrives, in some mode, also from European Comminsion...:bash:

This things only in italy or also in other country ? :nuts:

[xlchrisij]

Didn't this bridge got rejected?

[trainspotting]

Never officially rejected; Prodi attempted to do that, but at Senate votation in the end of October, last year, the Decree to reject the project was rejected (so the project wasn't canceled; never).
In January 2008 Prodi had to leave the Parliament out (to resign), and After the Election Day of April 2008 Berlusconi (who brought the bridge in project phase in 2002) won the elections, just like the polls reported before the election day (April 13th and 14th). We already knew he win the elections, seeing what mistakes the old government did.

Berlusconi promised to continue what was stopped in 2006 (when old communist government has come and will last two years 2006-2008).
Next steps: end 2008 convention renewal, 2009 starting of final projectation, half 2010 works may start, to be completed in 2016. Eight years yet for a building supported in Project Financing mode.

You might never know that, but i'm telling so: if Prodi never risen up, works could be on line and active on half of 2007. But maybe anybody never said that apart of me and a few ppl, and this because nobody else cares about Italian Issues, and Italy itself wouldn't admit his critical situation.
I think this is gonna be a good time.

[Rabih Alt]

Awesome project

Now, do Sardinia :D

[trainspotting]

Awesome project

Now, do Sardinia :D

Who cares ?