Postponement of temporary re-opening during Vinitaly. Works go on for completed delivery in June

A meeting with the companies to establish continuation of the construction site in Città di Nimes failed to confirm opening of the underpass for temporary traffic. This arose from the need to carry out additional works due to the criticality encountered and not foreseen of evident deterioration of the diaphragms of Porta Palio and Porta Nuova, which require immediate rehabilitation of the existing structures, with a consequent lengthening of times. The estimated delay is 15 days, which does not allow for the planned temporary reopening and which postpones final completion of the work, including the ascent/descent ramps, to mid-June. This unexpected event was decisive in the decision not to open the underpass temporarily. It was also decided not to provide for a temporary intermediate opening at the end of the works as keeping construction works open ensure greater speed and a timely response to any unforeseen events.

This morning, at AMT3, the Sole Procedure Manager Eng. Domenico Menna and the Works Supervisor Eng. Franco Galli explained the work phases in detail. They were together with AMT3 Chairman Giuseppe Mazza, Councillor responsible for Mobility Tommaso Ferrari, Manager responsible for Mobility/Traffic Michele Fasoli and Municipal Police Commander Luigi Altamura.

“From the early stages of construction – Eng. Domenico Menna explains – the goal of opening to vehicular transit with Vinitaly 2024 seemed challenging. We all worked to achieve this full result. Nonetheless technical and operational difficulties emerged during the course of the works that were not foreseeable in the design phase of the work and this led to continuous adjustments to the timeline in order to meet deadlines. Despite this there was a plausible reopening date by the start of Vinitaly in a temporary configuration, with use of only the two central lanes for the east/west connection and vice versa. However, we were aware that any further minor unforeseen event in the works would have led to the postponement of the completion date. This situation of extreme compression of the residual activities in addition to the adverse weather conditions, the failure of two existing diaphragms at the Porta Nuova underpass and the presence of particularly damaged reinforcements in further portions of diaphragms below the existing road surface, have led to new investigations carried out on the existing diaphragms, P. Palio side, both to establish the real consistency of the intervention and to carry out the necessary activities for static rehabilitation of these structures dating back to the 1990s World Cup, so as to guarantee both the safety of the workers involved in the construction of the underpass and road traffic and the durability of the work as a whole. For these reasons, as Manager of the execution of the trolleybus work, with the moral obligation and the regulatory duty to ensure that the works are carried out in compliance with safety and durability, I was forced to avoid the opening with temporary traffic “.

“There’s no point in beating around the bush –Councillor Ferrari says – today’s announcement is an announcement we wouldn’t have wanted to make. We are aware of the efforts that citizens have been making, for almost a year, to manage the impact of the construction site, and for this reason we have done everything, together with AMT3 and the construction companies, to meet the deadlines we had set ourselves. Unfortunately, however, when working on existing infrastructures that have not been touched for thirty years, there is a risk of unpleasant surprises. Thus, between a partial opening of the underpass made on a temporary basis in conditions of not full safety and the possibility of responding to any unforeseen events quickly, in order to arrive at the definitive delivery of the works in the shortest possible time, we thought that the second solution was the best, for the good of the city.

We are aware that there are those who will be disappointed but we remain convinced that the problems generated by this and other construction sites that will open in the city in the coming months will be fully rewarded by the benefits of a new Verona, which after decades of immobility is returning to be transformed and grow, building its future as a more pleasant to live, more modern, efficient and sustainable city. For this common plan, we are asking the people of Verona to make a further effort in putting up with these inconveniences: for our part, we shall work even harder to ensure that the works go on at a rapid pace and that unexpected problems are resolved in the shortest possible time, so that the new underpass that will transform the traffic of the external ring road can open as soon as possible in complete safety”.

“The unexpected event – Chairman Mazza underlines – unfortunately does not allow us to remain faithful to the hypothesis of opening provisionally before Vinitaly, and I regret it. Nonetheless, we must remain calm and not get caught up in the anxiety of opening. It would be a huge mistake, since our attention is focused on returning, in the shortest possible time, the complete Work, to make it available to the entire community. I, therefore, ask citizens to be patient for a few more weeks, being aware that, once the works are completed, mobility around this important road junction will be significantly improved”.

“In anticipation of Vinitaly – Commander Altamura explains – we have a detailed plan B, which also includes possible road closures but which will never damage public transport and which I invite everyone to prefer. I have already made Educational Institutions aware, so that during those three days of the trade fair departures from home will be anticipated and we will use the telephone alert service to remind us of the traffic advice, especially in Verona South, we shall strengthen the services as much as possible and we will have forty more men made it available to us by the municipalities of Padua, Trento, Vicenza. Furthermore, we shall strengthen the services with the Mobility center, a fundamental help, we shall guarantee maximum usability for access to Vinitaly, both with ad hoc information for patrons on parkings, taxis etc., and by asking Unicredit and Glaxo that on those days their employees can work from home in smart working. Finally we will block trucks in the Fair Headquarters and the traffic ring during rush hours to minimize the inconvenience of private motorists.”

“Failure to open the underpass changes nothing in terms of traffic – Fasoli Manager responsible for Traffic explains. In fact the traffic ring remains as it was conceived pending the completion of the works when the definitive version of circulation, which effectively envisages that Local Public Transport transits on the surface and that private motor cars have access to the underpass, will give form to the new city road network”.