On Thursday, September 10, the city of Livorno will remember the victims of the terrible flood of 2017 that occurred during the night between September 9 and 10. The commemoration in memory of the flood victims will take place starting at 8 PM, with a gathering at 7:30 PM. The ceremony will be organized as follows: at 7:30 PM there is a meeting scheduled at via di Popogna, corner of via dello Stillo; at 8 PM the ceremony will begin, with the lighting of torches and the start of the torchlight procession. This is the route: via di Popogna – via Collinet – via Fortunato Garzelli. Below is the interview with engineer Enzo Di Carlo who explains what has been done since that cursed day to protect the city from further disasters.
LIVORNO. A riverbed winds between the houses. Before, in its place, there was vegetation or roads. Then, as the Rio Maggiore was uncovered, it began to regain its original shape. It was decided to open it to allow rainwater, when it takes the form of a flood wave, to flow better downstream. For the same reason, the bridges have been rebuilt (or are nearing completion). The one on via di Collinet, for example, or the one on via Peppino Impastato. And, of course, the infrastructure at the mouth of the Rio Ardenza, whose construction site, plagued by every kind of problem, has accumulated a massive delay. “But the cost of renting the Bailey bridge (the military structure temporarily installed at Tre Ponti to ensure continuity of traffic during the works, editor’s note) will be charged, for the entire delay period, to the company.” The 2017 flood exposed all the hydraulic weaknesses of the territory. After that event, as we know, the Civil Engineering Department of the Tuscany Region took care of designing all the necessary watercourse safety operations. “Overall, these are interventions worth 93 million euros. Some completed and some yet to start.” The situation update – explaining which works are completed, which are not, and which still need to be designed – is given by engineer Enzo Di Carlo, head of the Lower Valdarno Civil Engineering Department of the Tuscany Region.
Engineer, let’s start with the Rio Ardenza, what interventions are still ongoing?
“Starting upstream, we have the section between the Variante Aurelia and via di Monterotondo, in Collinaia, where we are currently engaged in rebuilding the bridge. The old one has already been demolished and the company is placing the beams for the new one. These works, barring unforeseen events, should be completed by mid-November. Then there will be small finishing works, which should be completed by the end of the year, when the dismantling of the construction site is scheduled.”
What are the prospects for traffic in the area?
“Currently, traffic is interrupted but, as soon as the new bridge’s beam structure is completed, we have made available a temporary pedestrian passage to ensure the connection between the two areas.”
The bridge on via Collinet, on the other hand, has already been completed. Here the works saw, after uncovering the old Rio Vallecorsa route, the reconstruction of the existing infrastructure along the new road axis and the connection with the surrounding roads through a roundabout.
“Yes. And the works in the via Grotta delle Fate area, with the arrangement of the mouth of the rio Forcone through the confluence of the Forcone into the rio Ardenza, have also been completed for some time. However, the reconstruction of the bridge on via Mondolfi is still missing and will be tendered in the first half of 2027.”
But the “king of bridges” is certainly the one at the mouth of the Rio Ardenza. Here the construction site, which was supposed to last 540 days, has had various problems, including utilities and the company, making it necessary to double the intervention time. But where are we now? When will the new bridge deck arrive from Sicily?
“Recently there have been some problems with the timing needed for the supply of reinforcements and the seabed still needs to be dredged, an operation that has been decided to postpone until after the summer (to cause as little inconvenience as possible to bathers, editor’s note). The new bridge, however, should arrive at the end of October. Then the necessary works to arrange the access ramps and the relocation of all utilities will have to be carried out. At that point, the Bailey bridge, for which we currently pay a monthly fee, can be removed, and the new structure opened to traffic. The fees related to the months of delay accumulated, in any case, will be charged to the company as a penalty.”
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Not only Tre Ponti, works are still ongoing on via Cattaneo as well.
“Yes, these are the interventions on section 6 Cattaneo – Toti of the Rio Maggiore. Recently, the new changing rooms were tested and we are about to hand them over to the Municipality to start the season for sports associations. After that, the old changing rooms above the covered riverbed will be demolished. The process was mandatory.”
In what sense?
“In the sense that until the new changing rooms were finished, the works could not proceed. The bypass on via Cattaneo has already been opened and here we are building the piles for what will be the new bridge. In parallel, the Rio Maggiore will be uncovered upstream in the section of the old changing rooms.”
What else has been done in the area?
“The uncovering works on section 4 stadium and section 3 Toti-Rodocanacchi of the Rio Maggiore are completed. As well as the new bridge on via Peppino Impastato, in Salviano.”
What is still missing, then, besides via Cattaneo?
“Section 7. It will be tendered next year and involves the adaptation of the expansion basin and the riverbed of the Rio Maggiore in the area of the Misericordia cemeteries.”
For the mouth of the Rio Maggiore, instead of uncovering, there was talk of creating an underground overflow channel parallel to the main watercourse capable of relieving possible flood flows. Is this still the plan?
“Yes, we are waiting for the executive project, which is nearing completion. The tender to assign the works will be published by the end of 2026. A doubling in tunnel of the current section is planned with a work that allows, upon exceeding a certain level, to divide the water flow. This intervention will be the last to be completed, given the complexity of the work. It will take at least a couple of years.”
How much do all these interventions cost?
“The total cost of the interventions amounts to about 93 million and 86 thousand euros. Those completed amount to about 27 million and 886 thousand euros, those in progress to 31 million and 219 thousand euros, and those in design or tender phase to 33 million and 980 thousand euros.”
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