Italy Is Building the Riskiest Suspension Bridge in the World

Bright Side

Italy is building a suspension bridge so massive and so ambitious that engineers call it one of the riskiest bridge projects on Earth. This video dives into where it’s planned, why the location makes it insanely difficult, and what could go wrong when wind, earthquakes, and deep water all team up against one structure. The goal sounds simple — connect two places — but the reality involves extreme physics, crazy design limits, and nonstop safety challenges. Some people see it as a historic masterpiece in the making, while others see it as a disaster waiting to happen. It’s the kind of project that makes you realize bridges aren’t just roads… they’re bets against nature 🌉⚠️  Animation is created by Bright Side.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV  Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Our Social Media:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

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00:00In August 2025, Italy approved the construction of the Strait of Messina Bridge,

00:05a massive project expected to cost about $15.5 billion.

00:10The goal is to connect mainland Italy to the island of Sicily.

00:14The ferry crossing itself takes about 20 minutes,

00:17but during busy times, that short trip can turn into hours.

00:21So being able to just drive across could make life a whole lot easier for locals.

00:27We'll get into the ambitious details later,

00:30but let's start with a pretty important question.

00:32Why hasn't this bridge been built already?

00:35Well, because building it means tackling the Strait of Messina,

00:39and that's probably one of the toughest regions to build something on that scale.

00:43And there are five main reasons for that.

00:46First up, earthquakes.

00:48This bridge would be built right above a major fault line

00:51in one of the most seismically active areas in Europe.

00:54The Strait of Messina sits in a restless part of Earth's crust,

00:57where the African Plate is pushing toward the Eurasian Plate.

01:01And that pressure doesn't move in one clean direction.

01:04It squeezes the ground in some places,

01:06pulls it apart in others,

01:08and creates a complicated mess of forces underground.

01:11Those extreme interactions lead to serious seismic activity,

01:16the kind that can wipe out entire cities.

01:18In 1908, for example,

01:21a massive earthquake hit this region and triggered a tsunami,

01:24sending waves estimated at around 40 feet high.

01:28Together, these events nearly destroyed Messina,

01:31Reggio Calabria,

01:32and dozens of nearby coastal towns.

01:35And tragically,

01:36more than 100,000 people lost their lives.

01:40The problem is that kind of constant, dangerous ground movement

01:43could threaten the bridge's safety.

01:45I mean that during construction and even after it's finished.

01:50Second, the distance.

01:52At the closest point,

01:53Sicily is only about two miles from the mainland.

01:56If we were talking about two cities, that's nothing.

01:59But for a suspension bridge,

02:01it's like trying to stretch a rubber band across a stadium

02:03and hoping it never snaps.

02:06It requires serious next-level engineering.

02:09To put it in perspective,

02:10the biggest suspension bridge in the world today

02:13is the Çanakkale Bridge in Turkey.

02:16The distance between its two main towers,

02:18the part that hangs completely over the water,

02:21is a little over 1.2 miles.

02:24For the Italian bridge,

02:25that main span would be almost twice as long.

02:28Once it's finished,

02:29the Strait of Messina Bridge

02:30would be the longest single-span bridge in the world.

02:33Then, we've got the currents.

02:35The Strait of Messina

02:36has some of the strongest tidal currents in Europe.

02:39The water can move fast,

02:41change directions quickly,

02:42and even form whirlpools.

02:44Most of the time,

02:45the main flow goes from south to north,

02:48but there's also a smaller current

02:49that runs the other way.

02:52They usually switch every six hours,

02:54and that makes any construction

02:56in or near the water a real struggle.

02:59The fourth big challenge is the wind.

03:02The Strait acts like a funnel,

03:04meaning that strong, messy winds get pushed through it.

03:07And with very long suspension bridges,

03:10wind isn't just annoying.

03:11It can make the whole structure shake in dangerous ways.

03:15The strongest wind recorded there

03:17in more than 20 years of monitoring

03:19was about 67 miles per hour.

03:22So yes, this new bridge

03:23would have to handle even stronger winds.

03:26And finally,

03:27the last big challenge is the environment.

03:29This stretch of sea is one of three

03:31of Europe's main highways for migrating birds,

03:35like the red-footed falcon

03:36or the honey buzzer.

03:38And that really matters

03:39because their survival depends on it.

03:42For many of these birds,

03:43the migration trip is already brutal.

03:46They have to cross two huge natural barriers,

03:49the Mediterranean Sea

03:50and the Sahara Desert.

03:51There's nowhere to rest on the water,

03:53and the desert is too hot

03:55and too long for many species to survive

03:57without stopping.

03:59So, Italy becomes one of their last safe places

04:01to land, eat, and recover

04:03before they take on the hardest parts of the journey.

04:07But things like noise and bright lights

04:10can disturb them.

04:11And because this area

04:12has strong legal protections for wildlife,

04:14projects often run into legal roadblocks.

04:17This new bridge plan is no exception.

04:20Environmental groups have already raised concerns,

04:22saying the project doesn't clearly show

04:24how they will avoid damaging nature.

04:26So, there are problems with the distance,

04:29earthquakes, strong winds, powerful currents.

04:32And on top of that,

04:33birds might not like this bridge at all.

04:36Sounds like a lot to handle, right?

04:37But apparently, the designers and authorities

04:39think this new plan can deal with all of it.

04:42This huge bridge is expected to be finished

04:45sometime between 2032 and 2033.

04:48And if everything goes as planned,

04:50it would become the biggest infrastructure project

04:52in the Western world.

04:55Supporters say it could create

04:56about 120,000 jobs each year

05:00and give a real boost to Southern Italy.

05:03From a technical point of view,

05:04it's honestly fascinating.

05:06It will be massive.

05:08In fact, it would be the biggest suspension bridge

05:10in the world.

05:11Its pillars would be so tall,

05:13they'd rise higher than the top floors

05:15of the Empire State Building.

05:17It's also designed to handle a lot of traffic.

05:20It will have three car lanes in each direction,

05:23plus a double railway line in the middle.

05:26In theory, it could carry around 6,000 cars an hour

05:30and about 200 trains a day.

05:33Even though the project has officially got the green light,

05:36many Sicilians are still doubtful.

05:38And honestly, you can't blame them.

05:40This bridge has a reputation

05:42for being a never-ending project

05:44that keeps coming back,

05:46then stalling again.

05:48You know, people have been dreaming up

05:49the Messina Bridge for a long, long time.

05:53In fact, plans go all the way back

05:55to the Roman era.

05:56At that time,

05:57they wanted to link the two sides

05:58with a chain of connected boats.

06:01But since that kind of bridge

06:02wouldn't be permanent,

06:04they gave up on it.

06:05We can say that the modern saga

06:07really took off in the 1960s.

06:09They hoped that connecting Sicily

06:11more directly to the mainland

06:13would bring in the kind of international investment

06:15that other parts of Italy

06:16had been getting for years.

06:18So they started throwing around

06:19all kinds of ideas.

06:21Some plans were pretty wild,

06:23like underwater tubes,

06:24floating supports,

06:25even a bridge with a middle section

06:27that could spin around.

06:29But none of those options

06:30were truly realistic.

06:32And that's the thing.

06:33Since 1969,

06:35the Strait of Messina Bridge project

06:36has been approved,

06:37then canceled over and over again.

06:41Now, you might be wondering,

06:42okay, but why is this still so hard?

06:45Well, the distance is a huge deal.

06:47Like you already know,

06:49it would be the first time

06:50anyone's built a suspended bridge

06:51this massive.

06:53But from an engineering standpoint,

06:55it's doable.

06:56Then, you've got the natural obstacles

06:59we talked about earlier.

07:00Earthquakes, strong currents,

07:02and all that.

07:02But even though it shouldn't be

07:04that impossible anymore,

07:05in Roman times,

07:06yeah, it would have been a disaster.

07:08A bridge made with barrels and boats

07:10wouldn't stand a chance.

07:12But today,

07:12we have the technology.

07:14Countries like Japan and Turkey

07:16have already built major bridges

07:17in highly active earthquake zones.

07:20And we don't even have to look that far.

07:22In the US,

07:23the Golden Gate Bridge

07:24sits close to the San Andreas Fault,

07:26which puts it at risk

07:27of a major quake.

07:28But engineers have strengthened it

07:30with systems designed

07:31to withstand the strongest earthquakes

07:33we can realistically expect.

07:36So,

07:37what really stands in the way now

07:39is more than the human obstacles,

07:41things like the massive price tag,

07:43tricky financing,

07:44and worries about the project

07:45being poorly managed.

07:47Okay,

07:48but since the project

07:49was recently approved,

07:50they can start finally building,

07:52right?

07:53Approval is a huge step,

07:55sure,

07:55but it doesn't mean

07:56they can immediately start

07:57pouring concrete.

07:58in the strait.

07:59The project is on pause again.

08:02Italy's court of auditors

08:04have asked for more time

08:05to go through all the paperwork

08:07for something this huge.

08:09Still,

08:10the authorities say

08:10they can fix those issues

08:12and answer the court's questions.

08:14So,

08:14the idea is still alive.

08:16It's just moving very slowly.

08:18And maybe one day,

08:19the strait of Messina Bridge

08:21will finally move

08:22from paper to real life.

08:25That's it for today.

08:26So,

08:26hey,

08:26if you pacified your curiosity,

08:28then give the video a like

08:30and share it with your friends.

08:31Or,

08:31if you want more,

08:32just click on these videos

08:33and stay on the bright side.

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