New bridge in Genoa can't erase old sorrows
Vehicles drive across the new San Giorgio bridge in Genoa in northern Italy on Wednesday. The gleaming new bridge was built after the collapse of a viaduct in 2018 which killed 43 people.
A gleaming new bridge in Genoa built after the deadly collapse of a viaduct opened on Tuesday, but critics say not enough has been done since the 2018 disaster to overhaul Italy’s crumbling infrastructure.
The first cars crossed the sleek steel structure nearly two years to the day the Morandi highway bridge gave way during heavy rain, hurling dozens of vehicles into the abyss and killing 43 people.
The new San Giorgio bridge, designed by famed Italian architect Renzo Piano, was inaugurated to much fanfare on Monday.
But many of the relatives of the victims declined to attend, saying the ceremony overshadowed the 2018 tragedy.
“We’re still there, at the collapsed bridge, with the people we lost under the bridge. We’re stuck in 2018,” Giorgio Robbiano, 43, who lost his brother, sister-in-law and nephew in the disaster, said.
However he said “the bridge had to be built and we’re happy for the city.
“It was also important to show that large works could be successfully finished in time, without complications,” he said.
The tragedy shone a spotlight on the country’s decaying roads, bridges and railways.
The Morandi’s speedy demolition and replacement has been hailed by many as an example of what Italy could be, should it scrap its infamous red tape.
The center-left coalition government promised during the pandemic this year to use major infrastructure projects to reboot the battered economy, as Italy slid towards its worst recession since World War II.
It said it would radically simplify bureaucracy to unblock 62 billion euros (US$73.7 billion) of construction work.
