Is this practical? Useful? Would you walk across it? I certainly would not unless you paid me.
Sure, it’s only 3 km.
Not sure I see the issue here? I drive over a 5km bridge every day (not a suspension, I grant you). People do walk it. I think a bridge to Sicily sounds very sensible for enhancing the local economy.
I think it makes sense and is a good idea. They should have done it years ago.
Unlike, for example, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean is very benign in comparison. You don’t have to worry about hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. Sicily has a history of 7+ earthquakes that might be an issue, but I’m sure the bridge could be made earthquake proof for the most part. I’m unsure of this so, if anyone can chime in on that potential issue, it would be great.
I’m trying to figure out what the concern here is, as well. It doesn’t seem particularly long nor particular high nor anything I’d consider “scary.” Try the 24 miles of the Lake Ponchatrain causeway where at points you see nothing but water, water everywhere. That one can get me a little anxious. (OK, it’s not a suspension bridge. Is that the issue?)
A bridge to Sicily has been a boondoggle proposal for decades. Never gonna happen due to politics and cost.
Add me to the chorus of people wondering what the OP’s fear is.
Wikipedia describes an earthquake at that location in 1908. Magnitude 7.1, with a tsunami soon after. Estimates of casualties range from 75000 to 82000, but some other references go as high as 120000. I guess they’ll design the bridge accordingly, but I’m not sure I’d want to be in the middle of it when that sort of thing happens.
I guess I can maybe see some long term economic benefit for Italy very far down the road, but I guess I don’t understand the whole ‘direct continental route from the Suez’ thing. I mean it’s not like there’s any shortage of other Mediterranean ports for ships coming from the Suez Canal to choose from that’s going to provide any significant geographic cost savings benefit to Europe.
I don’t do well on bridges for whatever reason. 
Thanks for the explanation. Lots of folks have that issue with bridges. Others fear tunnels.
Yeah, as someone who regularly drives the 13 km confederation bridge between PEI and Nova Scotia, this doesn’t seem like that big a deal. Honestly, I was surprised to find that a 3km span between two fairly populated locations hadn’t already been bridged.
As to whether it’s a good idea, probably? Ease of movement will likely boost the Sicilian economy, and I’ve been told (though I’m not 100% sure) that in the long run such large bridges do usually pay for themselves by removing transportation delays and upkeep on ferries and ports.
The suspension part of the bridge would make it the longest and possibly tallest in the world. The current record is the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge in Turkey with a span of 1.2 miles. This one would have a span of 1.8 miles. A bit bigger but presumably not “requires new materials and building methods to be developed in the not too distant future” bigger.
The Strait of Messina is only a couple miles wide, so I’m not sure why the span needs to be that big.
Some people find it unsettling being on a bridge that high up surrounded by water
Then you better stay off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel - it’s only 17 miles long.
I don’t have problems with bridges or tunnels or even both combined. It’s the OP & other folks who have such issues.
I wonder why a bridge, rather than a tunnel?
Compared to other tunnels like the Chunnel, this seems like a fairly easy project.
The difference is in the construction method. The Confederation bridge rests on a series of piles built on the bottom of Northumberland strait, which is shallow (about 20 m mostly) but subject to ice floes. The piles are designed to break the ice, and to collapse in a limited way if the ice ever gets unmanageable.
The Messina strait is too deep for that (about 250 m). So the proposed Sicily bridge would be suspended from towers built on either bank, with no firm support in the middle. Water depth is the typical reason for building a suspension bridge in the first place. But a 3300 m span is a bit much; the Golden Gate bridge’s span is 1280 m, the Dardanelles bridge’s longest span is 2023 m.
Sorry, pronoun trouble; should have been “they.”
I believe it is the depth of the Mediterranean vs the Channel. I know that’s one reason why there is no tunnel between Spain and Morocco.
Plunging to my death from a collapsed bridge doesn’t bother me nearly as much as being crushed to death in a tunnel by tons of collapsed cement and water. I think it is the feeling of being trapped in a confined space surrounded by death. The thought of being in a submarine makes me feel the same way.