Italy: Rome reopens Ponte di Ferro bridge 70 days after fire

Rome: Rome’s Ponte dell’Industria, better known as Ponte di Ferro, reopens to traffic at 11.00 on Sunday 12 December, 70 days after it was damaged by a fire.

Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri announced that the bridge would reopen after technicians gave the all-clear following the fire on the night of 2-3 October.

The blaze damaged the 158-year-old bridge’s exterior but did not cause structural problems for traffic.

However pedestrians will not be allowed to use the path on the right-hand side of the bridge going in the direction of Ostiense.

The iconic metal bridge, located in the shadow of the Gazometro, is an important link between the Marconi and Ostiense districts and its reopening should alleviate traffic in the surrounding areas.

The 130m-long bridge was built between 1862 and 1863 by a Belgian company to link the railway line of Civitavecchia to Roma Termini railway station.

The structural work was completed in England, with the bridge moved in sections to Rome where it was mounted.

In 1911, with the opening of the new station of Trastevere, the railway line was moved to the new Ponte S. Paolo, further upstream. Photo Leggo