Strait of Messina Bridge have made the span more than 60% longer than the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan—the largest suspension bridge in the world at . Plans called for four traffic lanes (two driving lanes and one emergency lane in each direction), two railway tracks and two pedestrian lanes. In order to provide a minimum vertical clearance for navigation of , the height of the two towers was to be . This would have been taller than the Millau Viaduct in France (currently the tallest bridge in the world at ). The bridge's suspension system would have relied on two pairs of steel cables,
Richard de Millau Richard de Millau Richard Millau (Milhau) was an 11th-century Cardinal and a major player in the Gregorian reform implemented in the South of France at the turn of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. He entered the Order of Saint Benedict early in life and first entered the monastery of S. Paolo fuori le mura, Rome. He was created cardinal in 1078, elected abbot of Saint-Victor de Marseille (1079–1106), appointed papal legate, then Archbishop of Narbonne (1106–1121), he was a major player in papal policy to regain control of the hierarchy the Church, between Toulouse and Marseille. He was involved in