Seismic Isolation of the Italian Bridge: A Case Study

Abstract

The transversal communication between the Tirreno and the Adricatico coasts of the Italian peninsula, hindered by the presence of the Appennini mountain range, has been tackled quite late compared to the rest of the motorway network, in spite of its fundamental relevance for the socio-cultural development of the country. The designing and building processes of the connection between Abruzzo and Lazio regions began only in the early 70’s, with the realization of A24 “Roma-L’Aquila-Teramo†and A25 “Teramo-Pescara†motorways.
Due to the complex orography of the terrain in question, the construction of several motorway bridges, artificial galleries and other structural works was necessary, bearing heavily on the costs and leading to the subdivision in multiple lots and a noticeable delay in the finishing of the works.
So much so that its completion is currently still in the construction phase, with the doubling of carriageways in the last single-carriageway tract going from Villa Vomano to Teramo. Its executive design has been prepared by Mario Petrangeli & Associates s.r.l. for Strada dei Parchi s.p.a. who currently manages the interested motorways in association with ANAS (a public limited company managing the majority of the Italian road and motorway network). Works, carried out by contractor TOTO s.p.a., amount to slightly more than 100 million Euros and comprise a natural gallery, about 800m long, and two viaducts for a total length of 3500m, as well as several minor works and landfills.