Friday Funny: 142 Years Of Planning, But Still No Bridge

"In America, politicians score points with voters by railing against bridges to nowhere. In Italy's election on Sunday and Monday, candidates are worked up about a non-bridge to somewhere.

Shortly after the birth of modern Italy in 1865, the government began preparing to build a two-mile span linking the island of Sicily to the mainland. The bridge, which was to connect the Sicilian city of Messina to the Calabria region on the toe of Italy's boot, was to be the physical symbol of the country's unity.

It has been in the planning ever since, and over the years, experts have studied the bridge's impact on everything from Mediterranean trade to bird migration. But ground has yet to be broken, making the bridge an emblem of the chronic indecisiveness that links Italy to the past."

"Many argue that with its endless planning, the nonexistent Sicily bridge is little more than a costly ruse. "It's a bottomless pit of funding," says Sen. Felice Casson. "The money could be put to much better use elsewhere."

Yet those who support linking Sicily to the mainland say the project has been a relative bargain. In more than 20 years of operation, the company created to build the bridge, Straits of Messina SpA, has spent just $235 million. Company officials say that's a trifle considering the ambition of the project.

To be sure, nothing at all has been built with that money."