Sicily highway safety and toll controversy

In mid‑July 2026 a collision on the A19 Palermo‑Catania highway, worsened by a fiber‑optic failure, disrupted Sicily’s main east‑west route. By the end of the month a coalition of 24 municipalities submitted a motion to the regional government demanding an urgent technical review of the A20 Messina‑Palermo highway, citing inadequate tunnel lighting and outdated safety barriers, and calling for coordinated action among the Sicilian Region, the highway consortium (CAS), ANAS and local councils, with possible toll relief. The coalition formally approved the motion on 31 July, expanding support to more than thirty town councils and reiterating the request for an urgent technical table and consideration of temporary toll suspension on the most hazardous sections.

On 31 July Fratelli d’Italia’s Siracusa coordinator Paolo Romano announced the party would block the planned toll on the A18 Siracusa‑Rosolini‑Modica corridor until safety upgrades are completed, pointing to the still‑problematic Cassibile viaduct and recent serious accidents, including one involving regional president Renato Schifani.

On 3 August local officials intensified opposition. Siracusan councilor Alessandro Di Mauro said his municipal council will request the regional government to reduce or cancel the toll, while Pietro Rosa, mayor of Noto and vice‑president of the Libero Consorzio di Siracusa, called the fee “absolutely unacceptable,” arguing the highway was built with post‑earthquake public funds as a civil‑protection corridor. Both officials are preparing formal requests to halt the toll pending safety improvements.

The coalition continues to press for an urgent technical review of the A20 and for possible temporary toll relief on hazardous sections of Sicily’s highway network.