Thousands of bridges, built decades ago and in dangerous terrain, are starting to feel the pressure, and then there’s all that red tape...
The collapsed Morandi Bridge in the Italian port city of Genoa on August 14 2018. Picture: REUTERS/STEFANO RELLANDINI
The companies managing the roads have the responsibility to ensure their bridges are safe as part of the concession contracts. The ministry has supervisory powers, so when they find something is remiss they can invite the companies to act, but can’t force them to do anything. That would involve appealing to the government’s representative in the province, known as the prefect.
The country is now focused on containing the coronavirus after Italy emerged as Europe’s epicentre.r, earmarking €7.5bn to counter the impact. Schools and universities were closed as the disease left more than 100 people dead, mainly in the north. Migliorino visited the viaduct, which soars 90m over rolling green hills in an area on the Adriatic coast prone to landslides, several times since September 2018. He found what he called “advanced deterioration” of some metal parts, and sent several letters to Autostrade.
On January 13, Autostrade said in a statement that the viaduct was safe, constantly monitored and not subject to any significant geological movement. The magistrates ruled that it could be re-opened to trucks on January 30, though one lane remains closed and there are other speed limitations. Until June, none of the repairs Autostrade was carrying out had been classified as requiring immediate action, according to a table dated September 14 posted on Autostrade’s website. By December, it said six viaducts had “elements” classified at the highest risk level. Five of them are around Genoa and all have traffic restrictions due to maintenance.
The three other viaducts Migliorino wanted closed or banned to trucks late last year are the Altare in Liguria, Bormida in Piedmont, and Giustina in the south. The list is growing. Last week, magistrates ordered the partial closure of three viaducts on the Naples to Canosa highway, prompted by Migliorino’s most recent controls.
Today, Autostrade is the largest of 22 concessions. Owned by Atlantia, whose main shareholder is the Benetton family, it manages some 3,000km of highway, including the viaduct that collapsed in Genoa. Ministers also promised to set up a new agency to monitor safety and pledged to pour billions of euro into countering hydro-geological risks. All that materialised, though, was the collapse of another bridge.
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