Shortly before the planned reopening of the Genoa bridge, a dispute over the operator overshadows the new beginning. Italy’s Minister of Transport Paola De Micheli announced that the controversial group Autostrade per l’Italia will take over the new bridge for the time being.
This was followed by criticism from regional politicians, victims and also from the government itself. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte spoke today of a „paradoxical situation that threatens to become absurd“. He expects a decision on the concession by the end of the week.
43 people died in the collapse of the Morandi motorway bridge in August 2018. The public prosecutor is investigating the autostrade per l’Italia highway operator, which is controlled by the Benetton family. The bridge is said to have been dilapidated before. The co-governing five-star movement had declared after the collapse that the company would be revoked. The new viaduct is scheduled to open in late July or early August at the latest.
„Well, after two years of threats, immobility, proclamations, promised and postponed justice, the Genoa bridge is being returned to Autostrade,“ said Liguria Regional President Giovanni Toti. The head of the five stars, Vito Crimi, also said: „The Genoa bridge must not return to the hands of the Benettons.“ However, the government of stars and Social Democrats has been postponing a decision for months. „We are dismayed,“ said Franco Ravera, representative of an association of people who lost their homes in the accident.
