Genoa Bridge Was Known to Be in Trouble Long Before Collapse

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Officials had opposed plans to replace the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy, saying that the project would most likely fall victim to corruption. The bridge collapsed on Tuesday.CreditItalian Firefighters Corps, via Associated Press

By Gaia Pianigiani, Richard Pérez-Peña and Elisabetta Povoledo

Aug. 15, 2018

GENOA, Italy — Long before the bridge collapse that killed at least 37 people in Genoa on Tuesday, experts raised the alarm that the structure was deteriorating and possibly dangerous — warnings that, after the catastrophe, quickly led to a round of demands to determine who was to blame.

“The Morandi Bridge is a failure of engineering,” Antonio Brencich, a professor of engineering at the University of Genoa, said in a 2016 interview with the broadcaster Primocanale, which added that the bridge’s deficiencies were evident to many people, not just to experts. In 2012, the leader of Genoa’s business federation said that there was a risk of collapse within 10 years, according to the Genoese newspaper Il Secolo XIX.

In 2011, a report by Autostrade per l’Italia, the company that operates the highway, warned of “intense decay” of the bridge, which had needed continuous maintenance for years.

“Alibis are useless because everyone knew,” declared a headline in Corriere della Sera, one of Italy’s leading dailies, after the bridge collapse.

Local officials of the Five Star Movement, which is part of Italy’s new governing coalition, had opposed plans to build a new crossing and to shut down the Morandi Bridge, saying that the project would most likely fall victim to corruption. Some Italian news organizations reported that Five Star officials had previously mocked concerns about the condition of the bridge, which opened in 1967.

The body of a victim was recovered on Tuesday.CreditMassimo Pinca/Reuters

The disaster poses a challenge to the coalition, which rode a wave of populist discontent to victory but is led by people with little or no experience in government. Now, they must manage a crisis with the eyes of the nation on them.

The transport minister, a member of the Five Star Movement, vowed a comprehensive review and repair of Italy’s aging infrastructure, a task that promises to be time-consuming and expensive. He also suggested that the government would consider revoking the license given to Autostrade per l’Italia, responsible for maintenance of the country’s road infrastructure.

A large segment of the Morandi Bridge, near where it crossed high above the Polcevera River, collapsed suddenly on Tuesday, taking about 40 vehicles traveling with it. Officials said the roadway, part of the A10 highway, dropped nearly 150 feet to the ground, showering huge chunks of reinforced concrete onto roads, a warehouse, train tracks and a river bed.

Dozens of people have been confirmed dead, including three children, Genoa’s chief prosecutor, Francesco Cozzi, said on Wednesday. “It was not destiny,” he told reporters, adding that he would conduct a criminal investigation into the bridge failure.

Hundreds of rescue workers continued to comb through the wreckage, using dogs, cranes, power tools and their bare hands.

Family members of travelers who are missing waited anxiously for news of their loved ones. A man identified only as Antonio told Sky News said that he was waiting for news of his brother, sister-in-law and their daughter. “They haven’t responded to phone calls and never made it to their destination,” he said, expressing frustration. “We went to the police but they didn’t tell us anything, we’re just waiting. We want to know.”

In the 2016 interview, Mr. Brencich, the engineering professor, noted that many elements of the bridge had already been reinforced and that it needed frequent repairs, which he said should not have been necessary in a bridge of its age. He said the cost of maintenance had probably exceeded the cost of building a new span, and that the Morandi Bridge should be replaced and demolished.

Gaia Pianigiani reported from Genoa, Richard Pérez-Peña from London and Elisabetta Povoledo from Rome.