"In 10 years the Morandi Bridge will collapse… and we will remember the name of whoever said 'no' [to a bypass]." These were the words of a frustrated industry leader in Genoa, back in 2012. Just before midday on Tuesday, in the middle of a violent storm, a massive pillar of the 1.1-kilometre bridge collapsed. An 80-metre span fell to the ground far below, cars and trucks tumbling with it, killing at least 39 people including three children. FACEBOOK/AP Giovanni Calvini warned about the Morandi bridge. "If there are people responsible they will have to pay," said Danilo Toninelli, infrastructure minister. READ MORE: * Three children heading on summer vacations among Italy bridge dead * Hundreds of structures in Italy are at risk of collapse * Death toll hits 39 in Italy bridge collapse; 'homicide' investigation begins * Italy bridge collapse: How could this happen? "There cannot be such slaughter without guilt," said Matteo Salvini, minister of the interior, one of two deputy prime ministers and the most powerful politician in the country. In the wake of this tragedy there is plenty of guilt to share around. But some of it may end up resting uncomfortably close to the Italian government. LUCA ZENNARO/AP A truck sit idle after stopping just metres from the edge. The huge Morandi Bridge, spanning the gorge where the port of Genoa sits amidst coastal mountains, was built in the 1960s to a bold plan by Italian civil engineer Riccardo Morandi. It was an unusual design – using much more concrete than was customary, even encasing stay-cables within it (hiding signs of corrosion). Genoese architect Diego Zoppi told ANSA news agency the bridge was flawed from the start. "Fifty years ago there was unlimited confidence in reinforced concrete. It was believed to be eternal. With the continuous vibrations of traffic, the cement cracks let air pass through, which reaches the internal metal structure and making it oxidise". The bridge has always required extensive maintenance work. By the end of the 1990s Genoa had spent almost as much money repairing the bridge as it had cost in the first place. And there was a constant murmur of concern about its stability. Experts called it a "failure of engineering", a "failed technology", and pointed to other Morandi projects that had collapsed. For many years the city has had a plan – the 'Gronda di Genova' – a huge motorway bypass taking traffic to and from the nearby French border along a gentle arc through a massive tunnel and a smaller bridge, taking much of the load off the Morandi – including many of the heavy long-haul trucks. PAOLO SANTALUCIA/AP "If there are people responsible they will have to pay," said Italian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Danilo Toninelli, centre left with glasses. The case for the Gronda centred on the over-use and overload of the Morandi Bridge. A video produced last year for the project reported, over footage of a traffic jam on the bridge, that 25 million vehicles a year crossed over it. But the hugely expensive project was bitterly opposed by locals – much to the fury of Genoan businessmen. In December 2012 Giovanni Calvini, president of the local branch of the General Confederation of Italian Industry, Confindustria, gave a prophetic end-of-tenure interview to Genoa's local newspaper, Il Secolo XIX. He was generally frustrated with local authorities blocking reform and investment in infrastructure. He had one project on his mind in particular. "In 10 years the Morandi Bridge will collapse, and we will all have to queue for hours, and we will remember the name of whoever said 'no' [to the Gronda]," he said. The day the Calvini interview was published the Genoa council held a debate. Councillor Paolo Putti was furious. "I take this opportunity to express my feeling of anger… and I must also say a bit of amazement," he said. LUCA ZENNARO/AP The bridge was a main highway linking Italy with France. In 10 years, Putti said, far from ruing a bridge collapse, entrepreneurs would instead wonder why they had squandered €5 billion ($7.8 billion) on the bypass. He said the bridge could stand for another 100 years. He pointed out that thousands were opposed to the bypass, and "we are the strong and Calvini and others are the weak". Putti was the local leader of the 5-Star Movement, M5S, the coalition partner to Salvini in Italy's new government. M5S in Genoa has consistently pushed back against the Gronda bypass, which it called useless, harmful and unnecessary. In April 2013 M5S's 'No Gronda' committee posted a statement on the party website saying they had been regularly told a "tale of the imminent collapse of the Morandi Bridge" but it was a "favolette" – a fairy tale. On Tuesday, the statement mysteriously vanished from M5S's website. Toninelli, the infrastructure minister, is from M5S. And his party often takes the side of not-in-my-backyard locals against grand infrastructure plans – much of its rise to power has been through a quilted patchwork of smaller protest movements. NICOLA MARFISI/AP Workers inspect the buildings that were evacuated in the area around the collapsed Morandi highway bridge. Just two weeks ago Toninelli told a parliamentary committee the Gronda bypass was on a list of planned works under a review that "also contemplates the abandonment of the project" if it didn't meet new cost-benefit tests. Italy's spending on road maintenance fell by 12 per cent in the first five months of the year, according to media reports, and Italy has one of the lowest levels of roadworks in Europe. But neglect of Italy's roads began long before the current administration. By the end of 2017 about 5000 kilometres of provincial roads were closed or unusable, Corriere Della Sera reported, and more than half the network had reduced speed limits due to unsafe road surfaces. Officials were even unable to close some dangerous roads or reduce the travel speed because they couldn't afford the road signs. After the bridge collapse, Toninelli called on the management of Autostrade per L'Italia, the private company outsourced to oversee maintenance, to resign. He said he would fine the company and revoke its licence. He blamed it for failing to have done necessary maintenance. But Stefano Marigliani, director of Ausostrade del Tronco Genovese, said the company had done all the maintenance required under its contract with the state. Indeed, it was doing work on the bridge just before it collapsed. ANTONIO CALANNI/AP A large section of the bridge collapsed over an industrial area in Genoa. "The bridge is subject to frequent checks, it was a constantly-monitored infrastructure," he said. On Tuesday the long-time Eurosceptic Salvini had another guilty party in mind. "If there are European constraints that prevent us from spending money to secure … the highways our workers are travelling on, we will put the safety of Italians in front of everyone and everyone," he said. Salvini rode to his extraordinary electoral success on the back of blaming the EU for many Italian ills. But the EU can be linked in several ways to the Morandi Bridge. It had long resisted funding the Gronda bypass, only approving the project a few months ago after years of debate. And the EU imposes spending restrictions on eurozone countries - all euro member states are supposed to have "stability programs" that ensure they meet expenditure and budgetary objectives. Italy, whose economy teetered on the edge after the eurozone crisis, is now on tight rations. In May the European Commission reviewed Italy's economy and reform program and recommended it reduce net government expenditure even further, by at least 0.2 per cent of GDP in 2018. NICOLA MARFISI/AP A worker inspects the area around the collapsed highway bridge. However, the EU had recommended more infrastructure spending, not less. The review warned that servicing Italy's debt was "to the detriment of more growth-enhancing items including education, innovation and infrastructure". It encouraged the government to foster infrastructure with "better-targeted investment". An analysis by Corriere Della Serra found more reasons the EU may share the blame. Part of the extra stress on the bridge was from a boom in extra-heavy trucks. And this boom has been driven by several factors: the increasing price of diesel, but also an EU law limiting the hours that truck drivers can spend on the road each day. And pan-EU competition has had an effect too: smaller Italian truck companies have been driven out of business by heavy-load international competitors: huge trucks driven by Poles whose salaries cost a third of their local counterparts. On the other hand, Corriere added, lax Italian local authorities are to blame for allowing such big trucks on roads they should never have travelled. The collapse of the Morandi Bridge was caused by weather, physics, and decades of mistakes and oversights. This failure is no orphan.<doc-sep>Genoa: Devastating moments after bridge collapses top stories direct to your inbox SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up to receive our rundown of the day'sdirect to your inbox When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Shocking footage from the scene should the moment the bridge crumbled to the ground, as shocked residents in the background can be heard screaming: “Oh my god, oh my god.” Part of the bridge remained intact after the incident, which saw part of the huge bridge crumble onto buildings below. Multiple victims are likely, according to local fire officials, after the bridge collapsed at around 11.30am (10.30am BST). An ambulance official could only confirm two injured people so far, "but we suppose there are unfortunately a lot of dead." How tall was Ponte Morandi motorway bridge? When was it built? The Polcevera viaduct of the A10 motorway, called the Ponte Morandi bridge, crosses the Polcevera stream in Genoa between the districts of Sampierdarena and Cornigliano. The elevated road is located over a river, railroad tracks and buildings and the highway is a major artery to the Italian Riviera and to France's southern coast. The bridge, designed by the engineer Riccardo Morandi, was built between 1963 and 1967 by the Italian Society for Water Pipelines. On September 4, 1967, the bridge was inaugurated in the presence of the President of the Republic Giuseppe Saragat. Genoa bridge collapse: The bridge crumbled onto the ground below The bridge has a length of 1,102 meters, a height at the road level of 45 meters and 3 reinforced concrete piers reaching 90 meters in height. The Ponte Morandi bridge is a beamed bridge, where the vertical elements are trestles made up of two superimposed Vs. Restructuring work on the bridge was carried out in 2016. According to a source, "work was underway to consolidate the viaduct slab and, as planned, a bridge crane had been installed to allow maintenance activities to take place". Genoa bridge collapse: The hunt is on for those trapped in the rubble The highway operator said work to shore up the foundation of the bridge was being carried out at the time of the collapse. But he added the bridge was being constantly monitored while work was being carried out. He said: "The work and the status of the viaduct were subject to constant observation and supervision by the Tronco Management of Genoa. "The causes of the collapse will be analyzed in depth as soon as it will be possible to safely access the places Genoa bridge collapse: The motorway crossed this river Genoa: Moment motorway bridge COLLAPSES<doc-sep>
The Morandi motorway bridge in Genoa, a portion of which collapsed on Tuesday killing at least 39 people, has been described as a "tragedy waiting to happen" by engineering experts. The bridge, which was built between 1963 and 1967, had been beset with structural problems since its construction and had required expensive maintenance work in the past. The bridge was undergoing maintenance work at the time of Tuesday's accident and its demolition had been studied as far back as 2009. Engineers are now warning that much of Italy's post-War infrastructure, built using similar techniques to that employed in the construction of the Morandi bridge, is in urgent need of renovation. The technology of pre-stressed reinforced concrete used in the construction of the bridge was the hallmark of its designer, the celebrated Italian engineer Riccardo Morandi, who died in 1989. Morandi had used a similar technique for other works, including the longer and similarly problematic General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge in Venezuela, completed in 1962. On Tuesday, a specialist engineering website called "Ingegneri.info" wrote that the bridge had long presented "structural doubts" and labelled it "an accident waiting to happen." Antonio Brencich, professor of reinforced concrete construction at the University of Genoa and a longstanding critic of the bridge, highlighted the constant maintenance the bridge needed. "It was affected by extremely serious corrosion problems linked to the technology that was used (in construction). Morandi wanted to use a technology that he had patented that was no longer used afterwards and that showed itself to be a failure," said Brencich to Radio Capitale. Economic news agency Radiocor reported this week that Italy's motorway agency had recently launched a €20 million tender for work on the viaduct. The tender provided for a strengthening of the bridge's pier cables, including those of pier nine, the one that collapsed on Tuesday. The incident - the deadliest of its kind in Europe since 2001 - is the latest in a string of bridge collapses in Italy, a country prone to damage from seismic activity but where infrastructure generally is showing the effects of a faltering economy. "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. "The Italy built in the 1950s and 1960s is in urgent need of renovation. The risk of collapses is underestimated, the works built at that time are coming to an age when they are at risk." Italian President Sergio Mattarella said a "catastrophe" had hit Genoa and the whole of Italy, as attention turned to what might have caused the collapse and who might be ultimately responsible. "Italians have the right to modern and efficient infrastructure that accompanies them safely through their everyday lives," Mr Mattarella said in a statement. In the wake of the tragedy, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that "all infrastructure" across the country needed to be double-checked.