Genoa Bridge Collapse: Cable Design Under Investigation
Investigators continue to examine the Genoa bridge collapse, focusing on a potential Genoa bridge cable design failure that may have caused the tragedy. The incident claimed 43 lives after a section of the 51-year-old structure gave way during a storm.
Collapse Details and Structural Design
The bridge spanned the Polcevera Valley and measured 1.1 kilometers in length. It included three cable-stayed sections with spans ranging from 142 meters to 207 meters. On August 14, the westernmost pylon collapsed before noon. As a result, about 240 meters of deck fell nearly 45 meters onto a highway, railway, and nearby buildings.
Engineers have raised concerns about the bridge’s unusual stay cable design. According to Engineering News-Record (https://www.enr.com), bridge expert Michel Virlogeux reviewed both the structure and collapse footage. He suspects a cable failure triggered the incident. Notably, the bridge used a limited number of stay cables, which reduced redundancy. Consequently, this design increased the risk of sudden structural failure.
Reinforcement Gaps and Safety Response
In the 1990s, crews reinforced the stays on span 11 with external steel plates. They also strengthened the tops of the stays on span 10. However, teams did not retrofit span 9, which later collapsed. As a result, that section likely lacked critical structural support.
Following the disaster, Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport ordered an urgent review of 10,000 bridges older than 50 years. Ultimately, officials aim to identify risks and prevent similar failures across aging infrastructure.
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