Italy; Genoa bridge collapse: at least 23 killed, Italian official says

[PoliticAverse]

1. Genoa bridge collapse a disaster 'waiting to happen'

ROME (AFP) -
Genoa's Morandi motorway bridge, a 200-metre (650-foot) portion of which collapsed on Tuesday killing dozens of people, has been riddled with structural problems since its construction in the 1960s, which has led to expensive maintenance and severe criticism from engineering experts.

The Morandi bridge was built between 1963 and 1967. It has a maximum span of 219 metres, a total length of 1.18 kilometres, concrete piers (vertical structures that support the arches of a bridge) that reach 90 metres in height.

The technology of pre-stressed reinforced concrete used in the construction was the hallmark of its designer, the celebrated Italian engineer Riccardo Morandi, who died in 1989.

"Fifty years ago, we had unlimited confidence in reinforced concrete, we thought it was eternal, but now we know that it only lasted a few decades," Diego Zoppi, former president of the Genoa branch of the order of architects, told reporters on Tuesday.

Read the rest at: http://www.france24.com/en/20180814-genoa-bridge-collapse-disaster-waiting-happen