The board of Autostrade per
l'Italia said Tuesday it could build a new steel bridge in Genoa
in eight months to replace the Morandi Bridge that collapsed
killing 43 last Wednesday.
(Meanwhile the bridge between Ostia and Fiumicino near Rome
was closed due to erosion.)
The company, the Autostrade board said, was "continuing the
activity of planning and design for the reconstruction of the
Morandi Bridge."
The board said "the project sees the involvement of firms,
executors and designers of an international level" and
"envisages the demolition of the current remaining structures
and the reconstruction of the bridge in steel according to the
most modern technologies today available in an estimated period
of eight months starting from the obtainment of the necessary
authorisations".
The board approved a 500 million euro plan with its
own resources in the wake of the collapse.
The plan, already announced at a Saturday press conference in
Genoa, includes initiatives for the families struck by the
tragedy, for the reconstruction of the bridge, for Genoa's road
transit system and the suspension of tolls on certain routes,
the board said in a statement.
The Italian government is seeking to strip Autostrade, which
is controlled by the Benetton family through the Atlantia group,
of its license to operate Italy's highways.
A combination of factors may have caused the bridge collapse,
a prosecutor said Tuesday.
"The probe is aimed at a series of possible causes," said
lead investigator Francesco Cozzi.
He said "they could be concomitant, but it may not
necessarily be so".
On Monday investigators were looking at the possibility that
a heavy bridge crane may have caused the bridge to start
buckling.
Atlantia on Tuesday recouped 3% on the Milan bourse after a
string of losses following the disaster.
Meanwhile Premier Giuseppe Conte reiterated that the
government was planning to strip Autostrade of its motorway
concession.
(At the Ostia-Fiumicino bridge, tests were being performed on
structural corrosion.)
(Experts noted that a new bridge had been expected there for
years.)
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