Name of the Project
Polcevera river bridge.

Location
Genoa, Italy.

Project Owner/s
Autostrade.

Project Description
The bridge over the Polcevera connects the Port of Genoa and the wider coastal area to France. The bridge collapsed in August 2017.

The new bridge will play an important role in Genoa’s returning to being an important shipping and commercial hub. It will have a continuous 1 067-m-long steel deck with 20 spans.

It will have 19 elliptical piers made of reinforced concrete, the majority of which are positioned 50 m from each other. Two of the piers will be 100 m from each other because of their location on the river and the railway.

The design takes into account that the bridge crosses a densely populated area.

Once completed, the bridge will be equipped with technology that will make it a sustainable piece of infrastructure. It will have solar panels to generate the electricity needed to power its lights, sensors and other systems that will help to provide constant monitoring of the structure. There will also be robots to inspect its soundness and conduct regular maintenance.

Potential Job Creation
None stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start/End Date
The project is expected to take 12 months to complete, which will start after the demolition of the old bridge.

Latest Developments
The third last span, or section, which comprises more than 960 m out of the 1 067 m of the structure’s installed length, was installed on April 17 by Salini Impregilo (Webuild) and Fincantieri. Two sections of 50 m each remain to be installed.

Work is proceeding in full respect of Covid-19 health and safety measures to complete the deck by the end of April.

The latest span weighing about 215 t was hoisted by crane to a height of 40 m between piers 17 and 18, in an area called Parco Campasso. It was placed next to sections that were recently installed. With the deck nearly complete, work is under way to install the final fixtures of the bridge. Once the spans are installed, the deck will be lowered 26 cm onto its permanent bearings. The base of the deck will be covered with concrete to prepare for the road surface. Work will also focus on fitting the structure with the remaining fixtures that will make the bridge energy self-sufficient. It includes the technological system inside the structure that will collect data and power the structure. The bridge will have a system of robots and sensors to monitor and maintain the structure.

Extraordinary measures are being deployed at the construction site as a result of the national emergency caused by Covid-19. They include the measuring of the body temperature of every worker who enters the site, the distribution of masks and hand sanitisers, the enforcement of the safe distance rule, the cleaning and disinfection of work sites and common areas, and the reduction in the number of people who can travel in the same vehicle to and from the site.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Pergenova, a joint venture between Salini Impregilo and Fincantieri Infrastructure (construction contract).

Contact Details for Project Information
Autostrade, email info@autostrade.com.