Viability Feltrino-Primiero: the Pontet viaduct reopens on Monday one-way

The intervention had a final cost of three million euros, after the tender was open to award the mega construction site of the Pala Rossa

FELT. From Monday afternoon, the Pontet viaduct will be open for those coming from Primiero, a locality affected by a construction site that opened on 1 October a year ago to solve a structural problem of the bridge as a matter of urgency. And that ends, with two million euros more, to favor the best connection with the Primiero, intervening on one of the traffic problems of the section in question.

Initially it will be a two-way opening, explains the engineer of Veneto Strade, Michele Artusato: «From Monday, those coming from Primiero will travel the new viaduct, while those who proceed in this direction from Feltre will continue to use the one-way detour. This is to allow for the latest works given that the spaces are practically non-existent and that the company will still have to use part of the viaduct as a construction site for a certain time ».

The intervention was necessary because under the bridge structure there was a 54 meter long metal beam corroded by salt and atmospheric agents. From 1 October 2021, therefore, the Pontet viaduct closed to traffic, a stone’s throw from the border with Trentino, with the institution of the alternating one-way street regulated by traffic lights and the diversion of traffic on the old route alongside the work. .

The old road, freshly laid out and resurfaced, but too narrow to allow two-way passage, has nevertheless proved adequate to withstand alternating traffic. “When this intervention began, it seemed to be extraordinary maintenance and one million euros had been allocated,” explains the mayor of Sovramonte, Federico Dalla Torre. “Then the problem appeared much more serious and in the end the cost rose to 3 million euros. Veneto Strade made the intervention quickly and no particular problems were created in the viability of the Feltrino Primiero connection. And the advantage is that now the reinforced and renewed bridge will last at least 40 years ».

The closure of the Pontet yards now opens another very important intervention, that on the Pala Rossa. “The gallery is formally competing,” continues Dalla Torre. “In this period we proceed with the acquisition of the expropriation parcels. If all goes as we hope, construction should start in 2023. An intervention that, I recall, we agreed in February 2016 with the Province of Trento and the Veneto Region. Then there were the hitches related to the rebound between Anas and the Region. The problem has been overcome, indeed the ameliorative agreement between Anas and the Region has made it possible to increase the quota for the intervention, from the initial 20 million it now adds up to 25 million euros ”.

Unless some eventuality is put in the way, such as appeals or anything else, the expected time to make the riser is 18 months. While waiting for the tunnel to be completed, it will be possible to circulate on the current site of the Statale 50. But an embankment will be built that will act as a carriageway on the Molina stream, parallel to the current construction site bridge.