ISSUE 53 Expert Witness Journal - Journal - Page 35
The Genoa Bridge Collapse:
How and Why?
by Sheena Sood and Natasha Anwar
The collapse of the Genoa bridge in Italy in 2018, that killed 43 people and left many hundreds
homeless, sparked a critique of the inspection regime of bridges and highways in Italy and
specifically, how privatised maintenance and passive state regulation ultimately resulted in the
tragedy. It also prompted the UK to evaluate its inspection regime which differs quite significantly
due to stricter regulations and government body oversight.
Background
The iconic Polcevera Bridge in Genoa, also known as
the Morandi bridge, was built in 1967. On 14 August
2018, it collapsed during a storm resulting in the
death of 43 people. This marked Italy’s worst ever
road-bridge disaster.
The Polcevera Bridge formed a link in the main
motorway between the South of France and Rome.
The collapse had severe implications for the local
economy. Debris from the incident blocked the railway line for weeks and residents who owned homes
underneath the bridge were forced out.
The structural make up of the cable-stayed bridge
comprised of prestressed concrete structures for the
piers, decks and pylons and a hybrid system for the
stays, constructed from steel cables reinforced with
concrete.
Cause of collapse
Autostrade per I’Italia (“Autostrade”), the company in
charge of the bridge, was deemed responsible for the
collapse as they were in charge of the monitoring and
safety of the bridge. In a 2011 report by Autostrade,
the company had expressed concerns over the state
of the bridge, citing that it had decayed due to heavy
traffic and that a collapse within 10 years was possible.
Steel cables supported the road, however when
exposed to atmospheric conditions, steel can rust. Italian engineering experts suggested that corrosion to
the steel cables led to the collapse. Another potential
cause was the use of concrete which also deteriorates
quickly. Whilst the exact cause of the collapse remains
unknown, investigations showed that the southeast
cable on pylon 9 broke, creating a structural imbalance which triggered the collapse.
The prosecution
59 individuals went on trial. This included Autostrade,
Spea Engineering, the engineering company that
oversaw the inspection of the bridge and Italy’s transport and infrastructure ministry. At the time of the collapse, Autostrade and Spea were both subsidiaries of
the holding company Antalia. Charges ranged from
manslaughter to making false statements.
On 7 April 2023 a judge accepted a plea bargain of
€30 million from Autostrade and its former maintenance unit Spea for the collapse of the bridge.
Inspection regime:
A key factor deemed to have contributed to the collapse was Autostrade’s allegedly poor inspection
regime. The bridge had been plagued with structural
issues since its construction in the late-1960s. This resulted in expensive maintenance. The prosecution at