Genoa's Morandi bridge spectacular demolition

Morandi, a bridge that partially collapsed less than a year ago, was finally demolished.

Located in Genoa, the bridge gave way on August 14, 2018, in a dramatic incident. Following heavy rainfall, an 80-meter span fell down the streets from a height of 45 meters, killing 43 people. 

The causes of the collapse are still disputable but the failure has become a symbol of Italy's incapability of sustaining old infrastructure (the bridge was constructed in the 1960s)

On Friday, June 28, 2019, the two standing towers of the bridge were demolished in order to facilitate a new structure on the site. The demolition process was caught on camera. Click the video below to watch the impressive footage.

The 91-meters towers crumbled in about 7 seconds after the ignition of about 590 kg of explosives that were mostly placed in the towers' pillars. 4,000 residents were evacuated in order to facilitate the attempt. Officials created excavation pits to prevent the debris from spreading across the residential area. Moreover, constant water flow was sustained by fire trucks during the demolition in order to prevent the spread of dust.

According to Vittorio Omini, owner of one of the firms in charge of the explosion, it was an attempt engineered successfully in record time. "To my knowledge, it is the first time that this kind of work has been done in so little time and in a city center, at least in Italy," Mr. Omini commented.

Matteo Salvini, deputy prime minister of Italy, who attended the bridge's demolition, stated: "Today not only the old bridge comes down, but the new one starts to rise."