Civil engineers visit site of Italian bridge collapse

ASPIRING civil engineers from Liverpool John Moores are visiting the site of the Genoa bridge disaster.

The Morandi bridge, in Genoa, northern Italy, collapsed in August 2018 killing 43 people and leaving dozens injured. It is being rebuilt to a design by the nation’s most famous architect Renzo Piano.

Concrete corrosion was blamed when a 200 metre section of the 1960s road viaduct split away from the suspended structure and fell onto the town of Polcevera, provoking a national inquiry into the country’s infrastructure.  

Its rebuilding is of huge political significance in Italy and is being carried out by a consortium of three Italian construction companies: Salini Impregilo, Fincantieri and Italferr. Salina have invited the LJMU delegation onto site today (Thursday).

Amazing

“It’s an amazing undertaking, not least because the road runs almost 50m in the air and also runs over an established urban area,” explained Dr Iacopo Carnacina, senior lecturer in civil engineering.

“What students will understand is some of the issues in designing bridges in complex urban areas and also generally about the management of large infrastructural projects.”

The party will also be hosted by the Genoan Institute of Civil Engineers at a series of seminars on concrete bridges of the 50s, masonry bridges and the new bridge.

Once completed, the bridge will be equipped with sustainable technology, including solar panels, sensors and other systems that will help provide a constant monitoring of the structure. There will also be robots to inspect its soundness and conduct regular maintenance.

R&D

LJMU, through Dr Ana Armada Bras, is a centre of expertise in the research and development of sustainable building materials.

-The Masters in Civil Engineering programme aims to produce Chartered Engineers who play a significant role in society as professional civil engineers. LJMU supports its students in developing the necessary skills to take on future leadership roles. 

-The construction of the bridge over the Polcevera can be followed live on webcams on www.pergenova.com.