Stalled project linking EUR with Magliana could resume later this year.

New funding for the Ponte dei Congressi, the unfinished bridge linking Rome's EUR and Magliana districts, could mean that construction will resume again towards the end of this year, some 15 years after the project was first launched.

The stalled project will now receive an injection of €25 million as part of the government's recent Sblocca Italia bill which makes €3.9 billion available for infrastructural projects to help boost Italy's economy.

The news was announced by the mayor of Rome Ignazio Marino who pledged that work will recommence by the end of this year.

The mixed-traffic bridge was designed by Italian architect and engineer Enzo Siviero with Spanish engineering firm Arenas & Asociados, who won the city's international competition in 2001.

However their original one-arch design has since been modified and now features two interconnecting arches. The 900m-long structure has two levels: one for cars and buses, the other for cyclists and pedestrians.

In addition to linking the two neighbouring districts – which are very near as the crow flies but awkward to reach for commuters – the bridge is expected to shorten considerably the commute to and from Rome's Leonardo Da Vinci airport.

Marino describes the “strategic” project as a "new gateway to the city, especially for those coming from Fiumicino."