Everyone Knew This Bridge Would Fail - The Morandi Bridge Collapse (2018)

You'd think that after years of poor maintenance, rising traffic volumes and warnings of imminent collapse, that authorities in Italy would have taken the problem of the decaying Morandi bridge in Genoa seriously. Their response - "Nah, it'll be fine..." Here is a story of another catastrophe that need never have happened...
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[@RevoX4]

When even the designer of the bridge says there's an issue you know it's going to become a major problem down the line.

[@smontone]

Those headlights of the cars falling are haunting. I wonder if that footage was the held back footage not shown to the public early on because of court cases. I’d never seen it before. Truly haunting.

[@DrrZed]

"If you think safety is expensive, try having an accident" - someone, don't remember who.

[@lololandify]

So true!

[@mando9364]

As over the top they were, those disaster movies in the 1970's did have a realistic element to it. One detail, as shown on here and other channels time and time again, the powers that be will ignore the warnings till it's far too late and people are dead from their ignorance. This episode is really just another example of that. Seriously, sometimes you have to ignore the wallet and listen to the experts, especially if they have pictures as evidence of the oncoming disaster.

[@thereseemstobeenanerror1219]

​@@sobesmith5415 Does nothing in the long run.

[@nlwilson4892]

I don't think it is just about money. I've worked in quite a few different companies, been for many interviews. HR always insist on employing people that are very confident, that have a can-do attitude. Anyone who raises concerns that an idea has problems, that it might not work due to outside factors etc. is dismissed as being negative. Anyone who comes up with an idea but points out the shortcomings as well is seen to be negative. So the people who get the jobs and promotions are those that never question theirs or anyone else's proposals. Confidence and "can-do" work well in marketing and the soft skills, in engineering you need people that will question absolutely everything because only by doing that and finding a solution to all the problems do you get a reliable design.

[@ripwednesdayadams]

Eat the rich. Stop giving money to these assholes. Don’t shop at their stores, don’t buy their products, don’t support them financially in any way- hit them where it hurts, their wallets. That’s the only way to get these assholes to do anything. Don’t vote for or support impotent leaders who do nothing.

[@blumoontoons2313]

I've seen a few other videos on the Morandi Bridge, but none had the level of background as well as the current owners of the bridge as much as yours did. Not to mention that haunting footage of the bridge colllapsing is terrifying. What an absolute travesty, but thank you for giving us much deeper information on this terrible collapse.

[@Jude74]

Completely agree. And that Benetton family has brought a lot of corruption into different places over the years. Check out Formula 1 if you need an example.

[@paddyjoe1884]

I was on a train that passed under this bridge a couple of months before its collapse. It looked in such poor repair I assumed it must be out of service. I was wondering how they were going to demolish it with all the houses around.

[@stephenhagen9671]

3:30 What they were saying had to do with how the stays were built to account for the weaknesses of concrete as a construction material. It's incredibly strong in compression (eg a column getting squished together by the weight it's holding), and weak in tension (eg getting pulled apart by a weight hanging from it). Usually this is fine in situations were concrete acts as something like a wall or a column. In other situations though, engineers can work around these material weaknesses by putting steel rod(s) through the concrete and using them as screws to add additional compression to the concrete in situations where it might otherwise be under more tension than the concrete can safely handle on its own (think floors or, well, cable stays I guess). In this situation using tensioning on the concrete was definitely the right idea, but the fact that the concrete was used in the first place, in a situation dominated by tension forces, was definitely... a choice. DISCLAIMER: My training is in aerospace engineering, not civil engineering. I'd love to hear from any experts if I missed something or am otherwise off base. *Edited for clarity.

[@Him_He_Me]

Wow... even that photo of the steel cables hanging down from the roadway didnt prompt these people to do an urgent repair/inspection of the bridge?? That's outrageous. RIP to those poor terrified people that were lost to rich people's greed.

[@hephaestus6365]

8:09 Are you kidding me?!? THAT didn't get those in charge to start repairs? People need to be buried under the jail for this.

[@BufusTurbo92]

They are billionaires in Italy, they'll never see jail

[@StarGuardianKassadin]

Genoa resident here. The wreckage remained untouched (they did remove the bodies of course, talking about the metal and concrete) UNTIL 2019, when they demolished it completely. So everytime we walked or drove near it, you saw the place were people have died. Also, lots of people profited of of this trying to build conspiracies theories (allegedly there was a car which went through the bridge while it was collapsing, but was not found in the wreckage nor in the video from the other side) and made money off of that death. The city remained completely stuck in traffic every single day (with no action or attempt to resolve / redirect the bigger vehicles) until 2020 when they opened the new bridge and also past that, because people were undesdtandbly scared of driving on it. Other than rebuilding the bridge, there has been no attempt to secure any of the other bridges (it is not a recurring dark joke to try and bet which one it will fall first), so much that the people who live around them send pictures around to everyone they know when something is seemingly off with them, like if it seems like something is about to fall, etc. All they did was create a park under the site of the crash and put one light on the bridge for each victim. Which is nice, but also useless. Also, let's be real: this is a "i know exactly what I was doing at that moment" event, everybody knows and remember perfectly what they were doing, who they were with and where when they received the video. Yes, because (and this is italian af), we received the video of the bridge collapsing FASTER THAN THE FIRST REPOSNDERS ARRIVED TO SCENE. They DID NOT UNDERSTAND it was abig ass bridge collapsing, they thought it was just like a minor bridge and so it took several calls to 118 (our 911) from several people.

[@ericwhitehead6451]

Wow. So is the replacement bridge better built then the old one I hope?

[@StarGuardianKassadin]

@@ericwhitehead6451 hopefully. But only time will tell us if it really is. In the meantime, other bridges and streets keep collapsing but luckily it's all minor.

[@sixstringedthing]

"Spalling" is the term for the deterioration of the concrete seen in the still photos of Morandi's bridges, a phenomenon in which corrosion of the internal steel reinforcement (cables or bars) causes swelling or shrinking of the metal components and breaks the bond between the concrete and the steel, leading to chunks of concrete falling away and further exposing the reinforcing members to the elements. It's well understood today and probably wasn't so well understood back when the Genoa bridge was built, but I'm still baffled by the fact that this risk wasn't fully anticipated considering that concrete is and always has been a porous material which itself requires waterproofing/protection or regular inspection and maintenance to ensure longevity. Great video Raven!

[@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking]

_Spalling..._ The new, most terrifying term in English. (Ever since awareness of this word began with Surfside Condos...)

[@sixstringedthing]

@@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking A good friend of mine worked in strata property management for about two decades, trying to convince Bodies Corporate/Owners Corporations to stump up the money for repairs to spalled concrete was always an uphill struggle because such works are never cheap. Most of the spalling issues she dealt with were mainly cosmetic in nature, but on one occasion an apartment building with cantilevered balconies had gotten into such a state that several were in danger of collapsing according to the engineer's report. That one got dealt with pretty fast. Sad that the same can't be said about Surfside.

[@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking]

@@sixstringedthing That is so awful. :( We NEED whistleblower laws that not only protect them...but require government inspection. Life/death issues in engineering need to be taken seriously. And to head the cold-hearted argument off at the pass - yes, that would save everyone money. Disasters are expensive! The Dixie Fire...a billion or trillion dollar disaster...could have been entirely prevented - if the PG&E worker had felt confident he wouldn't loose his job by shutting down a power line. Company policy - required employees "visually verify" a fire is happening, before cutting it off. (Even after the same company killed 85 people in 2018 in the Paradise fire for the same reason.) Chage is NEEDED.

[@sixstringedthing]

@@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking Well said Kathryn. 👏

[@FRLN500]

@@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking we also need to stop the so called "environmentalists" from dictating government policies that require the power companies to NOT clear power line right of ways as had been the policy in the past. The current environmental policy of reducing environmental impact by reducing the clearing of right of ways has only led to even greater environmental destruction. But, let's just ignore that fact and put all the blame on the power companies. Also, shutting off the power after the fire has started will not put out the fire. The government of California imposes a financial penalty on the power companies if they fail to supply a predetermined amount of electricity to the communities and residents of the state of California. This is a huge contributing factor when shutting down power lines is contemplated. The California politicians and the people that vote for them are more to blame than the power companies.

[@robertscheinost179]

Considering all of the bridges (of all types) that are over 50 years old and in need of repair it's surprising that the bridges around the world are still being used daily. A report done in the USA showed that there were over 4,000 bridges that needed immediate repair.......And still waiting for those repairs! I guess they think if it's still standing, it's good to go. Wrong!

[@christopherburnham1612]

My friends passed over that bridge in early August 2018, and were watching the news when it's collapse was broadcast here in Australia,he remarked we passed over that bridge when we were in Italy, it was only a few weeks ago 😮

[@MichaelD8393]

8:07 "Alarming" isn’t even an understatement to describe how badly disintegrated the bridge had gotten. Seeing those cables protruding should’ve warranted a thorough repair.

[@MichaelD8393]

@crassgop Definitely. If the naked eye can see something wrong, then something IS wrong!

[@chatteyj]

@crassgop The fact that they didn't bother to repair pier 9 the one with no houses below is a red flag for me, its like they knew it would fail and did the other two so that when it failed fatalities were minimal.

[@skrounst]

Yeah, if I had seen the stuff hanging down I would have called up everyone I know and told them not to go over that bridge.

[@MichaelD8393]

@@skrounst Same, that’s just common sense.

[@grapeshot]

I can't help but think of the collapse of the Silver Bridge and the bridge collapse in Minneapolis when I see videos like this.

[@georgez8350]

There is another Morandi bridge in bad condition, Lake Polyfytos Bridge in Northern Greece. One of its central columns is sinking, serious cracks and eroded rebar. Bridge is currently closed and under "repairs".

[@skrounst]

I can't believe a first world country as large as Italy would let this happen. I'm all for a free market, but at some point the government should have stepped in. Almost every private business sector has government oversight when it comes to public safety. If a restaurant has roaches, the government steps in with the health department, yet a bridge that you can see is collapsing from a few hundred meters away ( 8:09 ) and no one did anything.

[@hwd7]

Brutalist Design is an understatement.

[@jmm2000]

Just watching the video of the collapse and seeing the semi-trucks and cars just fall with the bridge structure and the tower disintegrate all around is frightening. As you look at the two vehicles just barely passing under the tower and they both are floating for a split second, then nose dive into the abyss is extremely heartbreaking. On the other side, is a blue and green refrigerated truck just a meter or so from the edge of the bridge. The truck driver stopped abruptly and then climb out of the cab and ran to safely.

[@stuartf2946]

I do remember this Mr Raven, I have also seen a few videos about the bridge and it's collapse, but this is by the far the best. Thanks for taking the time to do this for us.

[@theravenseye9443]

Thank you for taking the time to always write great comments!

[@tOGGLEwAFFLES]

It has a 50 year lifespan and lasted 50 years, I'd say it was a well made bridge, they got exactly as advertised.

[@Cyberwolf9999]

Yes i also thought how long do they want the bridge to last? Also in the 60's it was hard to predict how traffic etc would grow in the future. The 70's had some really stupid building ideas. We had a pedestrian bridge collapse at a school due to a very stupid design. I think 10 kids got killed that day 😢

[@Docstantinople]

The predicted lifespan of the bridge has nothing to do the intentional negligence by those in control of the bridge. The bridge was clearly in a state of disrepair yet and should have been condemned until repairs had been made. Instead the people in control decided to wait too long but had no problem still collecting a toll so they could become richer.

[@SmokeTheHolyChalice]

Love the channel and so happy I found it. Finally, well researched, rich content that organized and narrated clearly and proficiently. Thank you for caring more about quality than monetary gain.

[@keliciaigbinazaka4538]

I had heard of this disaster before but I never knew all of the little details about the structural issues it had and the clear conflict of interest when it was bought out. I really appreciate the level of detail you go into for all your video as. When you said that all the steel cables were encased in one concrete block I thought ‘but then how will they be able to see if any of the cables are damaged?’ 😮 Also crazy to think there are still bridges using the same design. Thanks for another great video Raven!!

[@elliottprice6084]

It wasn't long into this video before I felt the sense of impending doom over the collapse of this bridge. And it's hardly surprising how much of a part money had to play in this disaster and the totally needless loss of 43 innocent lives

[@RNG-999]

Another great video by Raven's Eye channel.

[@DavidCurryFilms]

8:44 seeing those headlights in free fall is horrifying 😢

[@skrounst]

0:36 Imagine being out on your balcony for a smoke when this happened. Look how close it came to those apartments!

[@dottiegillespie8067]

This was absolutely fantastic! Thank you so much. I look forward to many more videos from you!

[@chicosticks]

I pity those poor souls that had to clean up that huge mess

[@Ass_of_Amalek]

bridge inspections by binocular from the ground? sheesh, now that's what I call cutting corners!

[@alexanderdukeler3948]

Another brilliant video from Raven’s Eye. Top notch. Thank you!

[@privatelyprivate3285]

12:58: Misheard “get your foot down” for a far cruder equivalent, and the “would be”notable (but warranted) breach in decorum gave me whiplash

[@kimberlycrouch7228]

Yeah, I thought he at first said something else too, had to listen again!

[@---qh9tb]

Another great vid, thanks!!

[@elmin82]

Thanks for doing a video about this disaster, i remember this very well, i'm from Italy

[@theresadimaggio7241]

I wanted to say how much I enjoy all your programs. Your awesome ❤

[@theravenseye9443]

Thank you!

[@20PhantoM07]

Another goodie there cheers mate.

[@saragrant9749]

I’m not at all surprised this would happen in Italy… of all places. This is the same country that has had the Vajont Dam disaster, the Malpasset Dam failure, the Seveso disaster, the Linate Airport disaster, the Val di Stava dam collapse, and more throughout time. Many other countries have had their share but this place seems to have had a plethora- most caused by government officials more in-tune with their own interests than people’s safety.

[@maxstueven1965]

Concrete is also porous, even though it looks solid water and other contaminants can pass through it.

[@itsjohndell]

I am also an ignorant layman who is not an engineer. But even I know steel corrodes encased in concrete. I am also Italian and fully aware of hubris and corruption. Criminal negligence, nothing less.

[@LBG-cf8gu]

Glad I stumbled onto your channel. Great stuff, new sub

[@cassinipanini]

seeing those cars hovering in midair is chilling :[

[@BufusTurbo92]

The morandi bridge mass murder is a typical example of the mindset of the italian industrial mafia (or industrial feudal ruling class if you prefer): businessmen, factory owners, managers and billionaires will literally kill you to preserve the bottom line. And they always do so with total impunity, because like with mafia bosses and feudal lords of old, there is no accountability.

[@ThePsiclone]

Binoculars, great for detailed closeup inspection of things a long way away. Said nobody, ever.

[@mikemoran4340]

Wow. Another cool video.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

Coming at the expense of several collapses and disasters since the first rising popularity of steel reinforced concrete and pre-stressed concrete, building codes all over the worlds have been adjusted since the 70's regarding the protective coatings REQUIRED for steel involved in any concrete construction. We've LEARNED that leaving steel "unifinished" or "bare" in the concrete causes corrosion, because the very chemicals involved in modern concrete ARE CORROSIVE to metals... ALL metals. Unfortunately, for privatizing their infrastructure, Italy fell behind on that detail, and with little financial feasibility to force a change for updating, they allowed this bridge to remain in service while the family in charge of it "self regulated" as all rich people do whenever they're allowed. That is to say, "Make excuses and run off with all the money. Leaving everyone else to die and clean up after." That's the unfortunate fact of life in modern society. As soon as someone amounts to a "pretty serious" amount of money, they think they no longer have to carry any responsibility, and for whatever reason, the government and POLITICIANS seem to agree with them, in SPITE of all this evidence that the VERY VERY CONTRARY should be the case. ;o)

[@justincredible.]

The steel in the concrete the becomes visible is because of corrosion. When the steel erodes, it expands, cracking and "pushing off" the surrounding concrete. The steel needs to be covered by enough concrete (3 to 4 cm) to prevent the corrosion, if that's not the case the concrete will crumble and expose more steel, causing more erosion, and so on

[@dogned]

Continue to love your content

[@craigpridemore7566]

I've seen a video on this before but I'd forgotten that the WHOLE TOWER collapsed! Wow.

[@WendyDarling1974]

I watched a video about this on another channel recently, and yours is superior and not only because you could actually say the name of the city right. The other one has the guy saying Gen-OH-uh.

[@lololandify]

Yayy another video!!

[@MassEffectGER]

Can't believe that almost five years have passed since the incident.

[@ComaDave]

Nice to hear the word "collapse" pronounced correctly.

[@friendlypiranha774]

It always baffles me when politicians and government officials overrule engineers.

[@devinjohnson9000]

Ladies and Gentlemen, the most modern story on this channel yet.

[@TioDeive]

Was anyone held accountable for neglecting the bridge for such a long time?

[@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking]

Corruption - A word people shrug about, until it results in this.

[@dsfs17987]

the whole idea of concrete encased cables seems very odd, concrete has almost no strength in tension, style over function seems to be the case here, as with a lot of Italian design

[@JoeK4444]

it was a nice little experiment

[@hakimESC]

Same in Prague - for bridge inspections and repairs is dedicated 4.5Million euros every year from the budget - which is not little. yet, few bridges collapsed in an instance - no warning, like it will get sick over night. Investigation found that there were no repairs and no inspections done in over 30 years. That money simple get into the pockets of politics and familiar parties.

[@Dulcimertunes]

Did people really live in buildings under the bridge? Noisy, dirty and shaky

[@ClefairyRox]

Looks like a classic case of officials kicking the can down the road. It's embarrassing and shameful how common this is, even with vital infrastructure. I'm heavily reminded of the I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis.

[@McIntyreBible]

8:37, video of the collapse.

[@mrliberty8468]

When they say they designed it for 50 years and it's 50 years better be prepared to inspect and repair.

[@nucass8051]

You should do to the Galveston hurricane of 1900

[@rich7787]

The concrete cracks like that because the steel corrodes and the rust, which occupies more volume than pure steel, will cause the concrete to spall off. It’s not that the concrete falls off and then the steel rusts, you have it backwards sir.

[@sometimesleela5947]

And those long, spindly arms of a brittle outer material like concrete seem like a recipe for cracks that let the weather in.

[@rich7787]

@@sometimesleela5947 Yes, if you don’t burry them deep enough the concrete won’t stop water from seeping in. Especially in something like a bridge where it might flex

[@hvee4]

I was just thinking about this today, perfect timing to watch this

[@doctorpizza8518]

I happen to live there, and I crossed that bridge at least 10 times

[@Nturner822]

Please cover Port Arthur (Australia) shooting

[@EnoVarma]

10:31 Bloomberg has a time machine, verified.

[@snoozeflu]

What about the residents who lived in the building? Were they allowed to move back in?

[@mattkaustickomments]

10:38 The United Killers of Benneton. EDIT- I had to change my initial time stamp after seeing someone else came up with this too.

[@chatteyj]

Et voila - a maintenance free bridge!.........oh hang on... actually I meant to say its a design that hides the fact and makes maintenance very difficult.

[@TriviaFreak]

From what little I've seen, that design looks like the concrete and steel version of wattle and daub.

[@lofthouse23]

Gee I wonder why this appeared in my recommendation list? Morbid much, KZbin.

[@SecondLittlePig]

7:27 Cameras installed and microphones to listen for damage.

[@MrGrandure]

Like bennetton renault?

[@gordsand5148]

holy shit some cars were flying

[@brianedwards7142]

Why am I thinking of science fair bridges made of pasta?

[@bartleymollohan1090]

Basically this was a funky version of the Silver Bridge…

[@8BitSamurai]

8:20 how can anyone look at that and think that will last another 50 years?

[@paultorgerson8776]

I can't help but think that there is a bridge, smaller and shorter span but still standing after 2000 years. How many of them within 30-40 miles of that bridge I wonder?

[@prechagirl]

Built with better design and concrete

[@southpakrules]

1.6K+

[@starry53]

I feel kinda bad for those people who got affected from the disaster that time.

[@rolfsinkgraven]

For some ppl maintenance is a dirty word.

[@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking]

It's clearly unpatriotic. How dare a person question the neglected bridge's structural integrity.

[@RebeccaCampbell1969]

Rubber / epoxy resin aren’t the answer either. Like concrete I is eroded, just by different source: UV light “No maintenance” is an engineering fallacy

[@davidjacobs8558]

in 1994, a section of 6 lane and mile long bridge collapsed in Seoul, South Korea. South Koreans cried out it's a disaster that only happened in 3rd world nations. obviously, South Koreans were very much mistaken. These things happen in 1st world nations like Italy and USA all the time.

[@ImmortalTreknique]

For the algorithm 👊

[@d.c2837]

Even Italian bridges give up when the tough gets going 😉🤣

[@michaelwallbrown3726]

more concrete and less steel, bells are going off and i'm not an engineer

[@zetectic7968]

A case of style over substance in that there was no redundancy for safety & not proper maintenance = disaster waiting to happen.

[@steveclapper5424]

So profits over safety, who would have guessed?

[@cecilia.e]

Well, I mean nobody could have suspected that privitising it woud lead to profit being put before safety, right..?

[@AcornElectron]

Technically it did its 50 years expected minimum. I’d prefer a few hundred years of stability.

[@ingvarhallstrom2306]

There are three reasons for the collapse of this bridge; corruption, corruption, and corruption.

[@prechagirl]

Bad design I would say

[@smedleyx]

I wonder if the Benettons got chauffeured across that bridge even once

[@DoubleMonoLR]

Using a photo of the demolition of the remaining part of the bridge as the thumbnail is misleading and pretty tacky.

[@deanothemanc5281]

Perhaps they should have stuck to making jumpers!!Rip to all those who perished.

[@robertwilloughby8050]

There is a lot shrouded metal work in modern bridges. This could happen anywhere else, at any time. BTW, here is a small but devestating accident that's worthy of a bit of reseach kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIPNh3ywd9KJarM

[@tski3458]

Bottom lline is To the rich owners, it costs them more to fix and maintain the bridge then settling after the lawsuits in the future that may or might not happen. Even with the fixes, there is no guarantee it won't fall over anyway. They gambled with other's lives. Even jail won't be substantial and won't deter others.

[@cynthiaalver]

Jail? Like super wealthy world wide, they just get out their check books and carry on with their daily lives.

[@BrettonFerguson]

"With an estimated lifespan of at least 50 years, the Morandi Bridge only just made it to the half century mark." Ummmm. I'm not a mathematician, but isn't 50 years and a half century the same thing? The bridge lasted 51 years. Mission Accomplished. 😁