Pandemic lockdown likely saved lives when the Caprigliola bridge collapsed

This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.

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On Wednesday, April 8, 2020, the Caprigliola bridge in Tuscany, Italy, collapsed. The Caprigliola was the first reinforced concrete bridge built in Italy, officially opening in October 1908.

The bridge had a great run for its first 37 years, but it was severely damaged by deployed mines during the Second World War. During the reconstruction of the bridge, reinforcements were made to accommodate heavier traffic capacity.

The Caprigliola operated without any safety concerns for 63 years. In 2013, the bridge first started giving some signs of wear and tear that could potentially be dangerous to its integrity.

In 2019, Tuscany experienced extreme weather conditions. Motorists driving on the bridge reported to authorities that there were cracks in the asphalt.

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The authorities audited the bridge and reported, "The viaduct for the moment does not present criticalities such as to compromise its static functionality." Ultimately, the assessment showed that the cracks did not impact structure and they were just an aesthetic issue.

Five months after the motorists spotted the cracks, the bridge collapsed. Luckily, there were not many people on the bridge and only two people were mildly injured. The heavily trafficked bridge didn't have its regular commuters on it while it collapsed because of the COVID-19 lockdown.

The cause of the bridge's demise is still not conclusive. Architects have made conjectures that unknown localized damage snowballed and eventually led to the collapse.

To learn more about the Caprigliola bridge and its final day, listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History."

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Thumbnail: Courtesy Vigili del Fuoco via Storyful