Italy - Bridge collapses on Genoa highway, 14 Aug 2018 *charges*

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gosh when you see people crawling around it gives you the magnitude of what happened

the ruble is just huge

they look like ants

thinking it does not seem like earthquakes result in such huge chunks

the bridge in s fl did not look like this
 
Mark Stone‏Verified account @Stone_SkyNews
The images in tweet below from the scene and
1f3a5.png
I’ve just got from Google StreetView show what appears to be a much worse catastrophe averted in #Genoa. It seems the section of the #Morandi bridge directly above the housing estate didn’t collapse. 1/2 @SkyNews

Mark Stone on Twitter
 
HayLouise said:
Mark Stone‏Verified account @Stone_SkyNews
These aerial images show the portion of the bridge hanging above the housing estate. Multiple people are confirmed to have died but it seems it could have been even worse.
Click to expand...

It would also have been much worse if it had happened during the morning or evening rush hour instead of at 11.30am local time. If there had been queuing traffic on the bridge upwards of 100 vehicles could have been involved.
 
At least 22 dead after motorway bridge collapses in Genoa in Italy
TELEMMGLPICT000171672357_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq4POtkKlMnbnjmurEo3KPFAut5JdUjKdaDmsOgopaE2g.jpeg

Emergency service workers search for survivors Credit: REX/Shutterstock
"First the central pylon crumbled, then the whole thing came down."

Another witness told Sky Italia television he saw "eight or nine" vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed in what he said was an "apocalyptic scene".
TELEMMGLPICT000171672365_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqN7kF8Fb6ID_G1m99xXXMyxcP5L7tfRuAJmUcMuHayNE.jpeg

"The disaster occurred on a highway that connects Italy to France and other vacation resorts on the eve of a major Italian holiday on Wednesday, Ferragosto, and traffic would have been heavier than usual as many Italians traveled to beaches or mountains."
 
In the Wail it's reported:

The bridge is a very unusual design, very similar to its much larger cousin, the Lake Maracaibo bridge in Venezuela, also designed by Riccardo Morandi and completed 6 years earlier in 1962.
Click to expand...

This is it:

Google Maps

It runs for 8.7km or 5.4 miles.

General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge - Wikipedia

Given Venezuela's growing economic problems over the past 15 years or so, it wouldn't surprise me if maintenance of this bridge has been neglected for some time.
 
dotr said:
"First the central pylon crumbled, then the whole thing came down."
Click to expand...

Aha. One of the reports seems to be saying that work had been going on on the foundations, which must refer to one or of the pylons/towers. If the pylon went first, the road sections either side of it had no chance.
 
I wonder if they used that speedy construction method like they did on the bridge in Miami that collapsed. I think it was a suspension bridge too.
 
Complete speculation, but wondering if the recent heat wave might have played a role in the bridge collapse. imo.
How does thermal expansion affect bridges? | Socratic
"Thermal expansion can affect bridges with either expanding or contracting the bridge (or, by essentially distorting it's shape).

If a bridge gets very heated, the road bed will expand. On the other hand, if the bridge is cooled, the road bed will retract. These changes in the bridge may seem initially insignificant, but with constant temperature changes, there will be constant and pervasive changes in the bridge length. Consequently, the bridge may eventually start to get distorted."
Italy heatwave ALERT: 10 cities issued 'RED MARK WARNINGS' as temperatures soar
"Italy heatwave ALERT: 10 cities issued 'RED MARK WARNINGS' as temperatures soar
ITALY’S Ministry of Health has issued a red weather alert in ten cities, including the much-loved tourist hotspots of Venice and Florence, warning people the 37.7C (100F) temperatures are a health threat.
Aug 7, 2018"
 
dotr said:
Complete speculation, but wondering if the recent heat wave might have played a role in the bridge collapse. imo.
Click to expand...

It's worth looking into, certainly.

What interests me is that on Wikipedia's page about the bridge's designer, Riccardo Morandi, it says:

Morandi's cable-stayed bridges are characterised by very few stays, often as few as two per span, and often with the stays constructed from prestressed concrete rather than the more usual steel cables. Although these bridges are often impressive, they are less economic than bridges with multiple stays and have therefore been of little influence on other engineers.
Click to expand...

Riccardo Morandi - Wikipedia

I wonder if economics were the only reason his ideas were not adopted by others, or if there were concerns about the designs themselves.
 
HayLouise said:
Mark Stone‏Verified account @Stone_SkyNews
The images in tweet below from the scene and
1f3a5.png
I’ve just got from Google StreetView show what appears to be a much worse catastrophe averted in #Genoa. It seems the section of the #Morandi bridge directly above the housing estate didn’t collapse. 1/2 @SkyNews

Mark Stone on Twitter
Click to expand...

Dear HayLouise,

Thank you for this important information. Indeed, as you say, "a much worse catastrophe averted" by the bridge over the housing estate not falling down.

What a terrible event. Praying for the injured to survive.

Deeply saddening for those who did not make it.
 
Revealed: Experts warned two years ago that 50-year-old 'uneven' Genoa bridge should be demolished because no one would pay for its 'exorbitant' maintenance - as Transport Minister says those responsible for 35 deaths 'will have to pay'

The motorway bridge which collapsed in Genoa, Italy, killing at least 35 people had been the subject of a series of 'exorbitant' maintenance works and had been causing issues for decades, it has emerged.

Engineering experts had warned that it would have been more cost effective to knock the bridge down than to continue to repair the 'uneven' construction.

The Morandi Bridge, built in 1967, was a main thoroughfare connecting the A10 and A7 highways and had therefore been heavily trafficked for more than 50 years.
Click to expand...

Genoa bridge collapse: Experts warned two years ago construction should be demolished | Daily Mail Online

The Mail's article has a diagram identifying the section which collapsed. It looks as though my thoughts earlier were correct.
 
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