Genoa blasts away remnants of tragic motorway bridge
Six seconds of controlled explosions wiped out the remains of a collapsed bridge in the northern Italian city of Genoa on Friday (Jun 28), paving the way for a new structure to replace the ageing viaduct that gave way last year, killing 43 people. Explosives tore down two towers of the Morandi Bridge as cannons shot water over the 20,000 cubic meters of steel and concrete to prevent huge clouds of dust engulfing the city.
The bridge collapsed on Aug 14 in heavy rain, sending dozens of vehicles plunging 50m to the ground below. The collapse has made access to Genoa's busy port more difficult and has also meant a lengthy detour for drivers wanting to head onwards to southern France.
The government of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the right-wing League wants its rapid reconstruction, hoping to signal a departure from the corruption and inefficiency that have often plagued Italian infrastructure projects.
5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio and League chief Matteo Salvini, both deputy prime ministers, attended the demolition, after Infrastructure Minister Danilo Toninelli laid the first stone of the new viaduct earlier this week. "Today not only the old bridge comes down, but the new one starts coming up," Salvini said.
Dust settles after controlled explosions demolished two of the pylons of the Morandi Bridge almost The reconstruction was assigned to Italian firms Salini Impregilo and Fincantieri. Designed by the renowned Genoa-born architect Renzo Piano, the new viaduct is planned to be inaugurated by the middle of next year.
It remains unclear whether the government will keep its promise to revoke the concession of toll road operator Autos trade per l'Italia, a unit of infrastructure group Atlantia which was in charge of the bridge's maintenance.Rome has accused the operator of serious failings in its upkeep of the bridge. Autostrade has denied wrongdoing, saying regular, state-supervised inspections had indicated the ageing viaduct was safe.
The revocation procedure started a few days after the bridge collapsed, but the coalition parties are now divided.General view after controlled explosions demolished two of the pylons of the Morandi bridge almost The dismantling of the remains of the bridge started in February.
The disaster threw the spotlight on Italy's creaking infrastructure. Prior to the demolition, local residents expressed relief that the eyesore would finally be gone, but were also concerned about the possible consequences of the detonation.The bridge "is high, it is big, it is full of iron, it is super heavy ... I don't know what will happen when it falls. Apart from the dust it will cause, I am worried about the impact," local resident Francesco Russo told AFP TV.
