Collapse in Genoa killed 43 people on August 14, 2018
A new video released this Monday (1st) shows the exact moment of the collapse of the central span of the Morandi Bridge, in Genoa, which occurred on August 14, 2018 and killed 43 people.
The recording was made by a camera installed at the Ferrometal metallurgical plant, which is located on the outskirts of the bridge. According to investigators, the video indicates that the collapse was caused by corrosion of the internal cables of the structure's stays.
Opened in 1967, the bridge had been built using a method developed by Italian engineer Riccardo Morandi and used in a few places in the world. The system is based on a cable-stayed bridge, but with the tracks suspended by concrete cables, not steel, as is more common.
In the video, it is possible to see that these stays break before the bridge pillars, shortly after a gust of wind. The recording is expected to increase government pressure on Autostrade per l'Italia, the bridge's concessionaire and accused by the anti-system 5 Star Movement (M5S) of not carrying out maintenance properly.
Italy's Infrastructure Minister Danilo Toninelli on Monday called for the revocation of all concession contracts with the company, which cover 3 kilometers of roads. Autostrade, for its part, says the video "does not clarify the causes of the collapse" since it "does not include all the essential components of the bridge."
The central pillars of the structure were demolished on June 28th, and the reconstruction is being carried out by the PerGenova consortium, formed by the state-owned Fincantieri and the private construction company Salini Impregilo.
The project was designed by architect and lifelong senator Renzo Piano and is estimated at 200 million euros, expected to be completed in April 2020.
FOLLOW-US
