Genoa's new motorway bridge
replacing one that collapsed killing 43 people in mid-August
2018 will open to traffic on August 4, Mayor and reconstruction
commissioner Marco Bucci and Liguria Governor Giovanni Toti
announced Thursday.
"We promised to restore it to the city as quickly as possible,
when no one believed it," said Toti of the bridge that has been
built in record tome for Italy.
"We have always believed and it has been proved right: come on
Liguria".
Bucci noted that the most recent stress tests had all gone "very
well".
The Genoa San Giorgio Bridge will be inaugurated by President
Sergio Mattarella two day earlier, on August 3.
The deadly collapse of the Morandi Bridge on August 14 2018 has
led to a deal whereby the Benetton group will gradually exit
Italian motorway management.
Benetton's Atlantia holding company will cut its stake in
motorway company Autostrade per l'Italia (ASPI) to zero over the
coming year.
Government bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) will gradually
build up a 51% stake in ASPI.
ASPI will thus become a public company, quoted on the Milan
bourse.
The ruling anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) had vowed to
eject clothing icons the Benettons from ASPI, blaming them for
an alleged lack of maintenance that allegedly led to the
bridge's collapse.
The new bridge, built in just over a year, has been designed by
Genoa native and starchitect Renzo Piano.
It features sail-like structures, to reflect the northwestern
port city's rich maritime heritage.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
