Experts knew bridge in Genoa was weak

GENOA, Italy — Engineering experts determined in February that corrosion of the metal cables supporting the Genoa highway bridge had reduced the bridge’s strength by 20 per cent — a finding that came months before it collapsed last week, Italian media reported Monday.

Despite the findings, newsmagazine Espresso wrote that “neither the ministry nor the highway company ever considered it necessary to limit traffic, divert heavy trucks, reduce the roadway from two to one lane or reduce the speed” of vehicles on the key artery for the northern port city.

A large section of the Morandi Bridge collapsed Aug. 14 during a heavy downpour, killing 43 people and forcing the evacuation of more than 600 people living in apartment buildings beneath another section of the bridge.

Overnight, workers heard creaking noises coming from the part of the bridge that was still standing, so firefighters suspended an operation allowing evacuated residents to retrieve their belongings from apartments under the bridge.

The governor of Liguria, Giovanni Toti, said checks were underway to determine what risks may be present.

Prosecutors investigating the bridge’s collapse have said, among other things, they are looking at possible faulty maintenance or design flaws.

Prosecutor Francesco Cozzi said Monday they are also looking for any possible weakness in oversight. He said he could not say yet if the presence of a maintenance platform weighing several tons on the bridge’s underside contributed to the collapse.