MILAN, February 18, 2020 – Workers celebrated today the completion of the last of the 18 piers - giants of reinforced concrete each rising 40 metres into the air - that will support the new Genoa bridge. PerGenova, the joint-venture between Salini Impregilo and Fincantieri that is building the bridge, reached the milestone in record time, one of several to be met before delivering the project to the city.

The completion of the last pier can be better understood when looking back at where it all started: the first foundation was started on June 24, 2019. In a matter of months, the piles, the foundations and the erection of the piers were then done at an average rate of three per month.

“This is a unique project from a number of vantage points: there is the innovation and sustainability aspect, the speed at which the bridge is being built, the close public interest and the pressure that comes with it, the attention to quality and safety, and, obviously, the very reason for the bridge to come into existence. It is for all of these reasons that I want to thank the tradesmen, the engineers and the workers that took part in this effort. They are our heroes,” Pietro Salini, Chief Executive of Salini Impregilo, said at the event. Marco Bucci, Extraordinary Commissioner for the Reconstruction and mayor of Genoa; Giovanni Toti, president of the Liguria region; Massimo Ferrari, General Manager Corporate and Finance at Salini Impregilo; and Nicola Meistro, Chief Executive of PerGenova were also present.

“Building this project is like wearing the country’s colours. There are millions of people who are cheering and encouraging us on. They want to see us succeed in meeting this challenge that we have set for ourselves in the name of our country. And this is the greatest satisfaction that we derive from our work. But I assure you that this project for Genoa is not a miracle: it is product of the uncelebrated expertise of great Italian companies. Our country has a level of excellence in engineering that enables it to develop big projects in a short period of time. It is an excellence that is just waiting for an opportunity to show itself. This is the vision that we have for Progetto Italia: to kick-start projects and create jobs.”

Taking into account their respective lengths both above and below ground, the piers together have a combined height of 1,500 metres, the equivalent of two Burj Khalifa skyscrapers. Above ground, they all measure 9.50 metres by 4.0 metres in order to guarantee a uniform perspective to the structure as well as to quicken the pace of its construction with the use of the same type of external formwork for every pier. The piers are elliptical in shape, allowing the light to slide off the surface and soften the visual impact that the bridge will have in its urban setting. At the moment, 10 of the sections of the deck that will rest on the piers have been installed. Work on this part of the project is relentless. After the setting of the first of three sections measuring 100 metres each, as well as that of a fourth, smaller one on the east side done two days later, the combined parts of the deck that have been raised have reached a total of 550 metres, more than half of its eventual 1,067-metre length.