“Suspension bridges are by definition more resistant to earthquakes than any other structure precisely because of the way they are built,” Salini told ReStart on Rai 3.
“If an earthquake like the one in Messina in the early 1900s were to occur today, a large part of the buildings there would collapse, but the bridge would remain standing,” he added.
“If there were to be a larger earthquake, only the bridge would remain standing.”
On December 28, 1908, an earthquake measuring 7.5 on today’s Richter scale hit Sicily and Calabria with the epicentre in the Strait of Messina.
The tremor and subsequent tsunami caused massive damage and killed up to 82,000 people.
The CEO of the engineering group that leads the Eurolink consortium that won the tender to build the bridge also said it has been designed “to withstand wind gusts of up to 300 km/h, while the maximum recorded in the last 100 years is 100 km/h for a short period”.
Salini’s comments came after opposition lawmakers raised doubts about the safety of the bridge during a recent question time with Transport and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini.
The government of Giorgia Meloni has revived the project to build what would be the world’s longest suspension bridge, which had been long delayed due to funding issues as well as fears of mafia infiltration and graft, and seismic and environmental concerns.
The CEO of the Messina Strait Company, Pietro Ciucci, said last month that work may start this summer.
ANSA
