The Ponte Morandi Bridge Collapse

On August 14, 2018, during a torrential rainstorm, a 210-meter section of the Ponte Morandi bridge located in Genoa, Italy collapsed. The CCTV footage of the collapse indicates that the cables of the bridge gave way before the entirety of one of the pillars of the bridge fell. 43 people were killed and between 30 to 35 cars and 3 trucks were reported to have fallen from the bridge. It has been reported that at the time of the collapse, the bridge was undergoing maintenance which included strengthening the road foundations.

The cause of the collapse was heavily attributed to corrosion and damage. Reports in the 1990s say that the bridge already showed signs of corrosion and fissures, just 20 years after its completion. An investigatory paper published in 2019 added that the collapse may have been a caused by a combination of corrosion, fatigue from the wind, and heavy load because of traffic. Due to the aggressive environment, the degradation of the bridge has developed much faster than expected. Little was done to mitigate these effects.

The company that managed the bridge, Autostrade per l’Italia, decided to add extra new cables around the corroded ones, rather than replace them. The company also neglected to retrofit the remaining two sets. On Nov 11, 2020, the former chief executive and other top managers of the company were arrested due to negligence.

The collapse of Ponte Morande bridge in Genoa is one of the many reminders on why constant monitoring of structures should be vital, especially since a combination on other factors may be involved.