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Webuild, the Italian giant of major works, is ready to rebuild the bridge in Baltimore, Maryland (United States), which collapsed at the end of March following the collision of a cargo ship with one of the support pillars. An accident that shook American public opinion and evoked sad memories even in Italy, where the memory of the collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa is still alive. The latter was subsequently rebuilt by the Webuild group, which boasts a long tradition in the construction of bridges and viaducts. Among others, the Braila bridge over the Danube in Romania also stands out, the second longest suspension bridge in continental Europe. The project for the reconstruction of the American Bridge in Baltimore was presented pro bono by Webuild, with its subsidiary Lane. But let’s go in order.
The collapsed bridge
The Baltimore Bridge (Key Bridge) is a strategic infrastructure for the region. According to the Department of Transportation, the interruption of the I-695 thoroughfare, which included the bridge, forces about 34,000 vehicles a day to take other thoroughfares. Webuild aims to build a new, safe and innovative cable-stayed bridge capable of redefining the entrance to the historic port of Baltimore city. The Italian group offered the American authorities a proposal for the design and planning of the reconstruction of the bridge, as a sign of solidarity and closeness to the USA, a country in which Webuild boasts a historic presence. The preliminary proposal was developed in collaboration with the architect Carlo Ratti, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux.
«As Webuild, with our American subsidiary Lane, we are ready to make ourselves available for a rapid restoration of this strategic bridge for the mobility of the area», writes the CEO of Webuild, Pietro Salini, in a letter sent to the Secretary of State Transportation of the United States, to the Governor of Maryland, to the Director of the Maryland Port Administration and to the US Ambassador to Italy, Jack Markell. Salini continues: «We will participate in the Virtual Industry Forum organized on May 7 by the Maryland Transportation Authority for the reconstruction of the bridge and we are ready to provide, in this first phase, any possible help in a pro bono spirit. The concept design of the bridge on which we have worked incessantly over the last month could represent an important contribution in view of the design and reconstruction or new construction of the work”.
The collapse of the Baltimore bridge, among the busiest in the area, had a significant impact on regional and global mobility, changing commuting patterns. “We are aware of the importance of this infrastructure from a logistical and commercial point of view, with over 1.4 million people living in the area, plus tens of thousands of commuters directly penalized by the collapse of the bridge,” says Salini. «We have already made our expertise available on the occasion of the tragic collapse of the Genoa bridge in Italy in 2018 (built at cost with no profit for the group), which caused the death of 43 people and paralysis of travel in the city and the port, among the most important in Italy”, continues Salini. Webuild built the new Genoa bridge in about a year, despite the restrictions related to Covid, working 24 hours a day, also thanks to the strong collaboration activated with the institutions and the support of the civil community.
The Italian proposal
The Webuild proposal for Baltimore includes a cable-stayed bridge that also aims to improve several functional aspects, including safety, adaptability and sustainability. The bridge will be designed to ensure maximum navigation safety, even for the largest ships. For example, a navigable freeway is assumed, the space that a ship can occupy to pass under the bridge, of 213 feet (65 metres), therefore much higher than that of the collapsed bridge, but also the expansion of the span of the bridge, which will have a clear span of approximately 2,300 feet (700 meters), with the main pylons positioned in much shallower water and away from the shipping channel.