Italy - Bridge collapses on Genoa highway, 14 Aug 2018 *charges*

[gregjrichards]

Sky News U.K reports 35 people have died.

I can’t believe this tragedy.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I can’t believe this tragedy.

It seems it was just a matter of time, if the Mail can be believed:

The disaster shocked the world but many locals feared the bridge would collapse for years and held their breath every time they crossed the vital arterial road.

'The state of the bridge always concerned us. Nobody has ever crossed that bridge with a light heart,' Genoa resident Elizabeth told the BBC.

'Everybody has always done it praying that the bridge wouldn't fall down. Today that happened.'

And:

There were also concerns the Italian mafia could have contributed to the bridge's collapse by their construction companies being involved in maintenance work - including shoring up the foundations.

'Mafia-related companies are known to have infiltrated the cement and reconstruction industries over the decades and prosecutors have accused them of doing shoddy work that cannot withstand high stress,' Canada's Globe and Mail wrote.

Family of three, footballer and bridge workers among the 35 people killed in Genoa bridge collapse | Daily Mail Online

 

[MelmothTheLost]

'No way was this felled by lightning': Engineers say 'wobbly' Genoa bridge that collapsed during a storm was a deathtrap with a 'huge flaw that maintenance missed'

A bridge that collapsed killing at least 26 people in the Italian city of Genoa was almost certainly brought down by a fatal flaw in its construction or wear and tear inspectors missed, experts say.

Engineers say wobbling Genoa bridge that collapsed had a 'huge flaw that maintenance missed' | Daily Mail Online

If this is the case there needs to be urgent and rigorous inspection and testing of all the other bridges built to the same or very similar designs around the world.

Although most seem to have been in Italy, there are others in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Libya and Canada.

Riccardo Morandi - Wikipedia

These bridges seem to have been built to be quite rigid despite spanning considerable distances. I thought bridges had a degree of flexibility built in to allow them to survive high winds and so on, so maybe this rigidity is part of the problem.

Of the Genoa bridge, it's being said it would have been cheaper to replace it than keep patching it up but the authorities preferred to spend money on completely new projects.

Additionally this bridge was a key section of one of the key motorways between Italy and France and the most convenient route from Italy into Spain, so taking out and rebuilding the bridge was always going to be extremely disruptive and unpopular with the transport industry. It would have taken years to demolish and rebuild and no doubt the authorities had their heads in the sand over the situation.

 

[Gardenista]

'No way was this felled by lightning': Engineers say 'wobbly' Genoa bridge that collapsed during a storm was a deathtrap with a 'huge flaw that maintenance missed'



Engineers say wobbling Genoa bridge that collapsed had a 'huge flaw that maintenance missed' | Daily Mail Online

If this is the case there needs to be urgent and rigorous inspection and testing of all the other bridges built to the same or very similar designs around the world.

Although most seem to have been in Italy, there are others in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Libya and Canada.

Riccardo Morandi - Wikipedia

These bridges seem to have been built to be quite rigid despite spanning considerable distances. I thought bridges had a degree of flexibility built in to allow them to survive high winds and so on, so maybe this rigidity is part of the problem.

Of the Genoa bridge, it's being said it would have been cheaper to replace it than keep patching it up but the authorities preferred to spend money on completely new projects.

Additionally this bridge was a key section of one of the key motorways between Italy and France and the most convenient route from Italy into Spain, so taking out and rebuilding the bridge was always going to be extremely disruptive and unpopular with the transport industry. It would have taken years to demolish and rebuild and no doubt the authorities had their heads in the sand over the situation.

People need to go to jail.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Genoa bridge collapse: Italy's governing populists wrote off safety fears as a children’s 'fairy story' before disaster

Italy’s governing populist party wrote off safety fears about the motorway bridge that collapsed on Tuesday killing dozens of people as a children’s “fairy story”, it has emerged.

The Five Star Movement (M5S), which has been leading the country’s government since earlier this year, has made political capital out of opposing major construction and infrastructure projects, which often drawn opposition in Italy because they can disruptive to local residents.

Italy's governing populists wrote off Genoa bridge safety fears as a children’s 'fairy story' before disaster

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Additionally this bridge was a key section of one of the key motorways between Italy and France and the most convenient route from Italy into Spain, so taking out and rebuilding the bridge was always going to be extremely disruptive and unpopular with the transport industry. It would have taken years to demolish and rebuild and no doubt the authorities had their heads in the sand over the situation.

See here:

Some architects and engineers had warned that the bridge, built by Italian civil engineer Riccardo Morandi in the 1960s, suffered from fatal design flaws; reinforcement work was carried out on it in 2016 in an attempt to shore it up. A complete rebuild was not carried out to avoid disruption, however.

Italy's governing populists wrote off Genoa bridge safety fears as a children’s 'fairy story' before disaster

 

[whatsnext]

Sadly it is never about people's safety but always about money. And not only in Italy for sure. Now the search for a scapegoat is the most important thing

 

[CARIIS]

Aha. One of the reports seems to be saying that work had been going on on the foundations, which must refer to one or of the pylons/towers. If the pylon went first, the road sections either side of it had no chance.

plus the storm was really intnese

 

[MelmothTheLost]

'It is a failure of engineering': Famed architect is the one to blame for Genoa bridge collapse because he wrongly calculated what would happen over time, says Italian professor

An Italian professor has blamed the Genoa bridge collapse on the architect that designed it, dismissing claims that rain or poor maintenance caused the tragedy.

The work of Italian architect Riccardo Morandi, who died in 1989, has come under scrutiny since the highway bridge named after him fell apart amid stormy weather, killing 38 people, on Tuesday.

Engineering professor Antonio Brencich said Morandi had wrongly estimated the ageing of his reinforced concrete structure over time and said the collapse was 'not due to rain or poor maintenance'.

Another Morandi bridge in Venezuela, built to a similar design to the one in Genoa, partially collapsed in 1964 after being hit by an oil tanker.

Architect to blame for Genoa bridge collapse says Italian professor | Daily Mail Online

I've seen one report that there have been problems of one sort or another with the bridge more or less since it was opened.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

plus the storm was really intnese

The weather was discounted as a reason for the collapse very early on. Fundamental flaws in the construction seem to be the issue, and there's speculation about substandard concrete being used for the structure. Apparently the Mafia was involved in almost all of these sorts of projects at the time and they cut corners by using too much sand and not enough cement for the concrete on projects they were involved in.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

From video footage taken at the time of the collapse it's clear that visibility was very low indeed in very heavy rain. If the weather had any effect on what happened, maybe it's that cars went over the edge because the drivers couldn't see ahead clearly or simply couldn't stop in time.

 

[Trident]

People need to go to jail.

And sometimes they have:
Vaiont Dam | History, Construction, & Disaster

There are many links to this disaster. Many of the people involved did go to jail. Two Thousand people died. I have been there, saw the memorials all over the place to those who died. Pictures of mothers and fathers who died. Whole families wiped out. Jail is too good for those who profit from death, and now this.

For the love of money is the root of all evil.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

In the Mail article linked above it says:

Engineering professor Antonio Brencich said Morandi had wrongly estimated the ageing of his reinforced concrete structure over time and said the collapse was 'not due to rain or poor maintenance'.

There will clearly have to be urgent and rigorous inspections of all of Morandi's similar bridges. The most urgent is probably the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge, aka the Maracaibo Bridge, in Venezuela. It's 8.7km or 5.4 miles long and crosses Lake Maracaibo, a large brackish water lagoon. Maracaibo is Venezuela's main petroleum port and the bridge connects the city to the main road running to the capital Caracas. The bridge partially collapsed in 1964, only 2 years after it opened, when it was struck by a tanker (presumably an oil tanker).

General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge - Wikipedia

However, given what we know about the Venezuelan economic situation it seems somewhat unlikely that the country could afford to carry out inspections and repairs if necessary.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

And sometimes they have:
Vaiont Dam | History, Construction, & Disaster

I read that the resulting megatsunami caused by the landslide was so enormous that it would have completely blocked out virtually all of the sky in that photograph.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Deleted - duplicate post.

 

[Trident]

I read that the resulting megatsunami caused by the landslide was so enormous that it would have completely blocked out virtually all of the sky in that photograph.

Probably it did, and yet the dam itself still stands. At least 2,500 people died. Can we imagine that many deaths? Whole towns were wiped out, whole families, a way of life gone forever. All that's left are shrines with pictures and plastic flowers. Horrible.

This collapse in Genoa was mild, horrible, avoidable. What went wrong? Do we ever learn, or does everyone give in to a graft, a little here and a little there?

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Probably it did, and yet the dam itself still stands.

Yes it does, but it seems to me there is a sense of horror involved when the sky is full of water that is about to land on you.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Is Venezuelan version of Genoa bridge also a death trap? Fears for older 'twin' of collapsed Italian viaduct after a fire broke out on it just last week and the car 'weighing system has not worked for years'

A fire last Friday destroyed an electricity transformer, forcing the closure of the Urdaneta bridge and leaving millions without power for several days, while experts say the weighing system has not worked for years.

And:

Marcelo Monot, former director of a private engineering company in the surrounding state of Zulia, said no maintenance had been carried out on the Venezuelan viaduct's reinforced-concrete piers for more than two decades.

'The weighing system has not worked for years, so it is not calculating the weight of the cargo vehicles, which represents a risk,' he said.

And:

Venezuelans have long been concerned about the country's crumbling infrastructure after a slump in oil-prices coupled with corruption and mismanagement brought the economy to a standstill, causing chronic food and medicine shortages.

Fears for Venezuelan 'twin' of collapsed Italian bridge after fire | Daily Mail Online

It's worth mentioning that former president Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999, and that he spent a lot of the country's dosh on handouts to the poor to ensure their votes. The economy has been in a tailspin ever since.

 

[gregjrichards]

People need to go to jail.

Agreed. They also need independent inspectors of all the bridges to try and prevent future tragedies.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Agreed. They also need independent inspectors of all the bridges to try and prevent future tragedies.

Unfortunately I don't think independence means anything in countries which are riddled with corruption, like Italy and Venezuela. I'm not sure what the situation is in Colombia and Ecuador.

It's also difficult to see how an inspection could be carried out on the bridge in Libya given that it's on a desert highway somewhere in that still wartorn country. ETA that the Libyan bridge is in the coastal mountain range so may be accessible depending on the local political situation.

Google Maps

ETA2 that the region is under the control of the Libyan government based in Tobruk and the national army so access should be very possible.

Libyan Civil War (2014–present) - Wikipedia

No problem in Canada, of course, and I think a proper inspection would be possible of the one in South Africa.

Given what we've read in the press about questions over these bridges right from the start, you have to wonder how Morandi got the design contracts in the first place in many of these places.