New Genoa bridge to reopen two years after deadly collapse

Record ID: 1565298

  • Title: New Genoa bridge to reopen two years after deadly collapse
  • Date: 3rd August 2020
  • Summary: GENOA, ITALY (RECENT - JULY 19, 2020) (REUTERS) TRUCKS MOVING ON NEW GENOA BRIDGE FOR STATIC TESTS SUPERVISED BY THE BRIDGE'S BUILDER WEBUILD (FORMERLY SALINI IMPREGILO) VIEW OF TRUCKS ON BRIDGE FROM BELOW TESTING OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS VIEW OF THE BRIDGE FROM BELOW
  • Embargoed: 17th August 2020 11:50
  • Keywords: Genoa Italy bridge collapse disaster rebuilding
  • Location: GENOA, ITALY
  • City: GENOA, ITALY
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents
  • Reuters ID: LVA003CPP1DMV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The new Genoa bridge will be inaugurated on Monday afternoon (August 3), nearly two years after the deadly collapse of a viaduct that killed 43 people.
    The new bridge, called 'Ponte San Giorgio', will replace the old Morandi bridge which collapsed on August 14, 2018, hurling cars and trucks to the ground and prompting national outrage, especially against infrastructure group Atlantia which had operated it.
    Since January 2019 hundreds of workers in a new consortium, comprising inspection and engineering services group RINA, builder WeBuild (formerly Salini Impregilo) and shipbuilder Fincantieri, have been working day and night to erect the new structure, that was designed by Italy's best known architect Renzo Piano.
    Neither a flood last year nor the coronavirus outbreak which put Italy's economy's on its knees have stopped the project. Even before Rome imposed a nationwide lockdown and set heavy restrictions on movement to limit the spread of coronavirus all workers were provided with safety protections, divided in teams and had their contacts traced to manage the risk of contagion.
    On June 22, WeBuild's chief executive, Pietro Salini, drove a car across the entirety of the bridge for the first time since construction began last year. On July 19, 16 trucks drove back and forth on the structure to test the 'twisting' capacity of the new bridge's deck.
    Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte are set to attend the inauguration.
    (Production: Massimo Pinca, Fabiano Franchitti, Cristiano Corvino)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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