There is a battle of data regarding the geological and safety aspects of the Messina Strait Bridge project: researchers and technicians confronted each other today in Rome, in the Senate, in the meeting organized by senator for life Elena Cattaneo.
“Could the bridge over the Strait of Messina withstand an earthquake like the one in L’Aquila or the worst imaginable scenario?”, asked the senator of the researchers and technicians, observing that “answers based on solid scientific foundations are a must”. “We want to understand the data – he added – to better understand a work that concerns everyone.”
For the CEO of the Stretto di Messina company, Pietro Ciucci, “the definitive project of the bridge is the result of great work carried out by an international team led by Italy”.
However, there was no shortage of objections. Carlo Doglioni, of the Sapienza University of Rome and former president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the Strait of Messina is an area in which seismic events with a magnitude greater than 7 cannot be ruled out. In fact, he added, there are “three systems of faults: those of the Strait of Messina, of Scilla and of Capo Peloro”. Consequently it would be necessary to “continue studies to perfect the project”.
On the risk of strong earthquakes in the Strait, seismologist Gianluca Valensise of the INGV has a different opinion: “we have no historical evidence of very strong earthquakes in this area” and “there are physical limits that the Strait of Messina fault can generate stronger earthquakes”. However, the project of the bridge over the Strait is based on the worst-case scenarios, observed Iunio Iervolino, professor of construction techniques at the Federico II University of Naples and the University of Pavia: “it is not possible to determine the maximum acceleration determined by an earthquake” and consequently “the structures are designed by calculating the greatest risk”. However, considering the technological progress made in the design of bridges since the 1900s, it is clear that a bridge with a single span of 3.3 kilometers like the one designed for the Strait of Messina is a real technological “surge”, said Federico Mazzolani, emeritus of construction techniques at the Federico II University of Naples.
Critical issues regarding the structure regarding the winds were also expressed by Giorgio Diana, emeritus of the Polytechnic of Milan and director of the Cirive wind tunnel. Finally, Mario de Miranda, an engineer specializing in bridges and large structures and former professor at the University of Venice, also recommended caution: “it is appropriate to re-examine the project, carry out all the tests and wait for the results”.