Ponte Morandi
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Ponte Morandi | |
|---|---|
 Ponte Morandi in 2010 | |
| Coordinates | 44°25′33″N 008°53′20″E / 44.42583°N 8.88889°E |
| Carried | 4 lanes of roadway |
| Crossed | |
| Locale | Genoa, Italy |
| Official name | Ponte Morandi |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 1,102 metres (3,615 ft) |
| Height | 45 metres (148 ft) |
| Longest span | 210 metres (690 ft) |
| History | |
| Designer | Riccardo Morandi |
| Construction start | 1963 |
| Construction end | 1967 |
| Opened | 4 September 1967 |
| Collapsed | 14 August 2018 |
| Location | |
 | |
Ponte Morandi ("Morandi Bridge'"), also known as the Polcevera viaduct (Template:Lang-it), was a viaduct on the A10 motorway in Italy. It crossed the Polcevera stream between the districts of Sampierdarena and Cornigliano in Genoa. The bridge was built in 1967 and was named after its designer Riccardo Morandi. It partially collapsed on 14 August 2018, killing at least 35 people.
History
Construction
The bridge was built between 1963 and 1967 by Società Italiana per Condotte d’Acqua. It had a length of 1,102 metres (3,615 ft), a height of 45 metres (148 ft) on the road level and 3 reinforced concrete piers reaching 90 metres (300 ft) in height; the maximum span was 210 metres (690 ft). It was a cable-stayed bridge, where the vertical elements are trestles made up of two superimposed Vs: one carried the roadway beam, while the other, upside down, supported the upper tie rods.
Morandi's cable-stayed bridges are characterised by very few stays, often as few as two per span, and often with the stays constructed from prestressed concrete rather than the more usual steel cables. Although Morandi's bridges are often impressive, they are less economic than bridges with multiple stays.
The bridge was inaugurated on 4 September 1967 in the presence of the President of the Republic Giuseppe Saragat.[1]
Collapse
On 14 August 2018, at around 11:30 local time (9:30 UTC), a 209-metre (686 ft) part of the Ponte Morandi, crossing the Polcevera stream and an industrial area of Sampierdarena, collapsed during a torrential rain storm. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the bridge struck by lightning before it collapsed.[2] At the time of collapse, about 20 cars were on the bridge, with ten of these reported to have been on the collapsed span.[3][4] The initial hypothesis is that a structural weakness caused the collapse.[3] Multiple survivors were transported to nearby hospitals, many in critical condition.[5] At least 35 deaths have been confirmed, with the death toll expected to rise.[6]
A large part of the collapsed bridge, together with the vehicles on it, fell into the flooded Polcevera stream, while other fragments landed on the tracks of the Turin–Genoa railway and warehouses belonging to Ansaldo Energia, one of Italy's leading energy production companies.[5] Italian Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli tweeted, describing the incident as "an immense tragedy".[2]
The bridge was reportedly undergoing maintenance, strengthening of the road foundations at the time of the collapse.[7] The disaster resulted in the shares of the road's operator, Atlantia, being suspended after falling 6.3%.[4]
See also
- General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge, another bridge with a similar design in Venezuela by the same architect, which partially collapsed in 1964 after being hit by an oil tanker[1]
References
- ^ a b "Genova: crollo del ponte Morandi. Era stato inaugurato 51 anni fa". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Italy bridge: Genoa motorway collapse kills at least 22". BBC News. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- ^ a b "'Dozens dead' as major road bridge collapses in Genoa". Sky News. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Italy motorway bridge collapses over Genoa, 'dozens' feared dead". Reuters. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Genova, crolla parte di un ponte sull'A10. Auto sotto le macerie: "Almeno venti vittime". La Stampa. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- ^ "LIVE: 30 dead as motorway bridge collapses in Genoa". Sky News. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- ^ "Italy's Autostrade was carrying out maintenance on Genoa bridge". Reuters. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.