A general view shows the Genoa bridge as engineers perform static testing operations ahead of its inauguration in Genoa, Italy, July 19, 2020. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File Photo
MILAN: A new viaduct in the Italian port city of Genoa will open next month, built to replace a motorway bridge that collapsed almost two years ago, killing 43 people.
"Genoa's Saint George bridge will be inaugurated on Aug. 3 at 1830 local time (1630 GMT)," Genoa Mayor Marco Bucci said on a post on his Facebook account. Bucci is also the state-appointed commissioner for the replacement of the bridge.
Connecting Italy with France, a section of the old bridge broke apart on Aug. 14, 2018, sending dozens of cars plunging to the ground. The disaster prompting national outrage and triggered a bitter dispute between the government and infrastructure group Atlantia, whose motorway unit managed the viaduct.
Hundreds of workers in a consortium including inspection and engineering services group RINA, builder Webuild and shipbuilder Fincantieri, have been working day and night since January 2019 to erect the new structure in a project led by Genoa-born architect Renzo Piano
