From three to six months the estimate for the works, the traffic diverted to the old road with a traffic light for the alternating one-way
OVERWHELMING. Six months of closure at worst, three at best. Urgent intervention is needed to secure the Pontet viaduct, which from tomorrow will no longer be passable due to the start of work to replace a 54-meter-long edge beam, severely damaged by the elements and literally eaten up by the salt thrown away one winter later. the other against the ice, but which ended up also eroding the steel. The Veneto Strade company, which contracted the work to the Deon company in Belluno, describes it as “one of the most worn bridges” it manages and speaks of a “situation that cannot be postponed”.
The intervention is entirely financed by the Region for 3 million 400 thousand euros and falls within the scope of the 2017 law relating to the adaptation of damaged bridges. This is the road network on the border between Veneto and Trentino, on the Sr 50 del Grappa and Passo Rolle in the Municipality of Sovramonte. With the closure of the viaduct between the provinces of Belluno and that of Trento, to guarantee the connection, traffic will be diverted to the old road, already used in recent weeks by the vehicles climbing towards Primiero while the workers were preparing the construction site on the bridge, with one lane separated from the rest of the carriageway by a traffic divider barrier.
The alternative itinerary will be passable in alternating one-way traffic light regulated because it is too narrow to allow two vehicles to cross at the same time. «It is clear that queues can be created», admits the general manager of Veneto Strade Silvano Vernizzi, «and we apologize in advance to the citizens for this. But we do it for the safety of those passing by and we really couldn’t wait any longer ».
The duration of the works will greatly depend on the weather conditions, given that we are heading towards the winter season. “Difficult to make a prediction,” says Vernizzi. «The worst case scenario from the point of view of the times, with a heavy winter and the worst conditions, is six months. The best guess could be half as much. We will do everything and the company knows it must do the impossible to reopen the viaduct as soon as possible ».
Precisely to speed up the conclusion of the works and the reopening of the viaduct, the company has set up two shifts (therefore sixteen hours of work per day). “An edge beam that is heavily worn by rain and other weather elements must be fixed, and the work cannot be done by keeping it open,” explains the general manager of Veneto Strade. “We have waited for the end of the summer tourist season in such a way as to create less inconvenience to users, but now we have no alternative to the total closure of the viaduct,” adds Silvano Vernizzi. “The period was also chosen to wait for the Suem night helicopter rescue service to be operational to guarantee any emergency.”
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