• August 14, 2018, the Morandi bridge collapses: 43 dead
  • Plan: building a bridge is a gesture of peace
  • Ponte Morandi, a rescuer: "I will never forget the faces of frightened people"
  • Genoa, those who went to work, those on vacation: the many lives lost in the collapse of the Morandi Bridge
  • Genoa, the inspectors: "The bridge has crooked and then collapsed. Collapse due to several contributing factors"
  • Bridge designed by the engineer Riccardo Morandi, it was built between 1963 and 1967
  • Morandi bridge collapses on the A10 in Genoa: 35 confirmed dead

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04 August 2020

The new Genova San Giorgio bridge could be reopened in the evening. The dismantling of the structures that had been set up for the inauguration ceremony was completed on the viaduct. At 6pm, Autostrade per l'Italia will take over the management of the viaduct via the extraordinary commissioner for reconstruction and mayor of Genoa, Marco Bucci. Then the last inspection by Aspi will follow, after which the opening hours for traffic will be defined.

As soon as Aspi receives the management of the road network from the Commissioner's hands, the verification that should last a couple of hours will begin. The director of Trunk Mirko Nanni, with some technicians, will verify that everything is installed correctly and in order. At the end of the inspection, and after drafting the report, the bridge will be reopened to traffic.

Yesterday the inauguration ceremony. Mattarella: "Work to remember"
43 names, read in silence one after the other. They are the victims of the Morandi Bridge, which collapsed on August 14 two years ago. Their names resounded under the tent set up for the ceremony, which inaugurated the new symbol of the city's rebirth: the San Giorgio bridge, built in just under 24 months from that tragic morning.

In the front row, the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Conte and the President of the Senate, Elisabetta Casellati. 

Mattarella first met privately in the Prefecture with the Committee of family members of the victims of the collapse of Ponte Morandi. The family members had been invited to attend the inauguration ceremony, but they had opposed the refusal, because they believed that the event took a too festive address. After knowing the situation, Mattarella imposed a sober ceremony and the private meeting was born. At this point, the Committee agreed that the names of their dead relatives were read on the bridge.

Mattarella: "There is a strict and rigorous action to ascertain responsibilities"
"Responsibilities are not generic, they always have a name and a surname, they are always the result of actions or omissions" Mattarella told them. "It is important for there to be severe and rigorous accountability action," stressed the Head of State, assuring that the situation will follow "step by step".

The inauguration of the Bridge "is not the closure of what happened but the consequence of what happened. And it is a way of remembering the tragedy: anyone who sees the Bridge in Genoa will always have in mind that the Bridge is there because another bridge has collapsed And the Republic will surely remember it, "said Mattarella again. "The bridge is not a cancellation of what happened, in fact in some respects the project includes it with the plaque commemorating the victims," ​​he added.

"The President of the Republic has had affectionate words with us and has assured us that he will follow the story of the victims of the collapse of the Genoa bridge and that the State will not forget them and will not forget the family members" were the words, outside the prefecture, of Egle Possetti, president of the Morandi victim relatives committee.

At the inauguration ceremony, the President of the Chamber Roberto Fico as well as several ministers, including the owner of Infrastructures Paola De Micheli. On the bridge also the governor Giovanni Toti, the mayor and commissioner for reconstruction Marco Bucci and the architect and life senator Renzo Piano, the 'dad' of the new structure. 

Before the ceremony, the notes of Fabrizio De Andre's famous 'Creuza de ma' rang in Valpolcevera, starting from the speakers installed on the new Genova San Giorgio bridge, in pouring rain.

Conte: admirable fruit of the Italian genius
The Ponte di Genova "is an admirable work fruit of the Italic genius, of a virtuous collaboration between politics, local administration, business and work" said Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in his speech. "Genoa is the demonstration that our country knows how to get up and go back to running."

"We are not here just to cut a ribbon, our moved thought is addressed to the 43 victims and family members. This bridge gives us an image of strength and lightness. This bridge is the result of the strength of the work" added the premier.


"There is nothing that can extinguish the pain of losing a life, all the more so when the cause is the neglect and bad management of an asset that, being also public, should be guarded, managed, with particular care and particular attention" he added , recalling the dispute with Aspi. "It is also starting from this awareness that the government has deemed it necessary to conduct the complex procedure for challenging the defaults that caused the bridge to collapse," said the premier. "And just recently this procedure ended with the agreement to redefine the terms of the agreement, to bring the original concession relationship back into legal and economic balance, with the possibility of more effectively guaranteeing investments in ordinary and extraordinary maintenance, guaranteeing greater security for all citizens. We are also working to redefine the governance and control of the concession society. "