Italy's former head of motorways sentenced to 12 years over Ponte Morandi collapse
Giovanni Castellucci, former head of Italy's motorway operator Autostrade per l'Italia, and 31 other people have been convicted over the 2018 collapse of the Ponte Morandi bridge in Genoa, which killed 43 people.
Castellucci was sentenced to 12 years in prison, the highest of those convicted in the case, for complicity in multiple counts of manslaughter through negligence, reported The Guardian. He is currently serving a six-year jail term for a road disaster in 2013.
On 14 August 2018, the 1960s Ponte Morandi motorway bridge collapsed during heavy rainfall.
A tower and a 210-metre section of the bridge came down, sending vehicles down a 45-metre drop into a riverbed below. The incident killed 43 people.
Thirty-two people sentenced to jail
Castellucci's deputy at Autostrade per l'Italia, Paolo Berti, was sentenced to five years and six months in jail, and an 11-year sentence was given to motorway official Michele Donferri Mitelli.
A total of 32 people were found guilty, with the shortest sentence being one year and 11 months, while 25 were acquitted or cleared. All defendants had denied any wrongdoing.
Opened in 1967, the cable-stayed Ponte Morandi takes its name from its designer, Italian engineer Riccardo Morandi.
Supported by three reinforced concrete piers, the 1,102-metre-long bridge formed part of the Polcevera viaduct and was a key section of Italy's A10 motorway.
Morandi was known for his unconventional cable-stayed bridges, often using prestressed concrete instead of steel for the stays, as in the Ponte Morandi.
Prosecutors fault bridge maintenance
In the trial, prosecutors argued that a lack of maintenance to the bridge and delays to safety works contributed to the bridge's collapse.
Defence lawyers claimed that a specific stay cable encased in concrete was a fatal design flaw.
The remains of the Ponte Morandi were demolished in 2019. It was replaced the following year by the Genoa San Giorgio Bridge, which was designed by Renzo Piano, who hails from Genoa.
Supported by 18 slender reinforced concrete piers, the 1,100-metre-long deck at Piano's bridge features metal fins along the sides and rows of photovoltaic panels.
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