Rome, 20 March 2025
The new Ponte dell'Industria bridge in Rome has reopened to traffic with a wider and completely renovated steel structure. From today, in fact, local public transport vehicles, as well as cars, motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians will also be able to use the bridge. The works, which are part of the 'essential and undeferrable works' of the Jubilee, were carried out by the FS Italiane Group, through its operating company Anas, amounting to an economic investment of EUR 18 million (of which 13 million came from Jubilee funds and 5 million from Roma Capitale).
Matteo Salvini, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport; Roberto Gualtieri, Mayor of Roma Capitale and Extraordinary Government Commissioner; Ornella Segnalini, Councillor for Public Works and Infrastructures of Roma Capitale; Tommaso Tanzilli, Chairman of the FS Italiane Group; Claudio Andrea Gemme, CEO of Anas were all present at the opening ceremony.
The Ponte dell'Industria bridge, also known as the 'Iron Bridge', is located in a strategic position for mobility in Rome: it represents a fundamental infrastructure for the connections between the Ostiense and Marconi districts. The work, of great historical and engineering value, has been preserved and adapted to the needs of contemporary mobility after complex consolidation and redevelopment work.
The fire of October 2021
On the night of 2 October 2021, the Bridge suffered severe damage to its structural elements due to a fire. On 12 December 2021, following investigations by the Infrastructure and Public Works Department of Roma Capitale, the infrastructure was provisionally reopened to the transit of vehicles with the exception of those with a load exceeding 3.5 tonnes. Following the results of Roma Capitale's safety assessment, the bridge was defined as passable for only five years, after which it would be permanently closed in the absence of structural work.
This unprecedented engineering challenge carried out by Anas allowed the implementation of innovative solutions and the use of cutting-edge technologies which enabled the work to be fully compliant, including earthquake-proofing. As a result, the Structure can once again be used by trucks, buses and vehicles, and a protected bicycle and pedestrian path has been created.
Consolidation work on the Ponte dell'Industria bridge
The most delicate phase of the work was the consolidation of the foundations, a crucial intervention to ensure the stability of a structure with over 150 years of history.
The consolidation was carried out using large diameter columns, of approximately 1.7 metres, placed outside the existing foundation piles, pushed down to a depth of 59 metres, equivalent to a building of about 20 storeys.
The technique used: jet grouting
A total of 58 columns were built in the riverbed and 24 on the bridge abutments, totalling 2,928 linear metres of columns and over 5 million kilograms of jet grouting. This is an innovative technique, used for the first time and involving the injection of a soil-consolidating binder mixture at very high speed. This particular technique made it possible to proceed from the top of the existing deck downwards, without having to divert the flow of the Tiber river with a consequent lengthening of the construction time.
Disassembly and assembly of the deck
Deck disassembly and assembly were equally complex: the first operation, carried out in several stages, used a 600-tonne crane to lift the spans. The new, all-steel Structure was assembled in three segments and launched by pushing: a procedure that required preparatory work and the use of specialised equipment. The gradual lowering of the deck was then completed, with the use of hydraulic jacks and metal castellated spacers.
The bridge, due to the presence of numerous underground utilities in the assembly area that did not allow excavation for easier positioning of the work, was from the positioned 2.5 metres above the road surface initially; it was then lowered by approximately 20 cm per day until it reached the road surface.
At the same time, the assembly and launching of the landing spans on the abutments, the assembly of the walkways and parapets for bicycle and pedestrian transit, the waterproofing of the deck, the laying of the joints and the last layer of paving began, followed by the final inspection.
The restoration of the bridge arches, entrusted to a specialised company, will be completed by the summer. Then, by 2025, they will be relocated to the infrastructure.
With the reopening of the Ponte dell'Industria bridge, the FS Group confirms its strategic commitment to the valorisation and protection of the country's infrastructural heritage, paying special attention not only to safety and functionality, but also to the architectural and historical enhancement of the works.