Replacement of the sound-absorbing barriers on the motorway, the summit postponed to Tursi. Protests of the inhabitants. Aspi: “Ready for comparison”. The work plan on the A7 and A10: construction sites from mid-November

Genoa – Starting from the second half of November to the construction sites to be demolished and replaced 34 kilometers of sound-absorbing barriers on the Ligurian motorway network. The summit in Tursi with Aspi, scheduled for today during the session of the competent committee on the matter, was postponed because the Autostrade technicians could not be physically present (“given the short notice and the technicians in charge being in Rome”, writes Aspi in a note) and the Municipality, as indicated by Aspi in a note, did not intend to hold the meeting by teleconference.

The general lines of the interventions and a first time schedule have already been defined. Aspi said it was fully available for a discussion to optimize interventions on the basis of any specific requests.

In the meantime, the inhabitants of the districts of Genoa crossed by the motorway network gathered in front of Tursi for a protest sit-in. They ask for an intervention.

The protest

Some have even brought a bag containing the fine dust collected on the terraces or windowsills. The Genoa Anti-Noise Barrier Committee, at 2.30 pm on October 31st, launched a protest defense in front of the Municipality. 50 people arrived in the square, representing the districts of the city crossed by highways.

A delegation of demonstrators was received by the councilor for the environment Matteo Campora. “The meeting at which Autostrade will also be present is set for 14 November at 2.30 pm. We will guarantee that the indications are clearer. The goal is to reduce the time schedule and create meetings with the municipalities concerned. To finish the work as soon as possible and above all in the best possible way ”, explained the commissioner Campora.

“We are at the mercy of nothing and we need answers – explained Elisabetta Nasuti, spokesman for the noise barrier committee and inhabitant of Rivarolo – Bolzaneto, Pra ‘, Palmaro, Sestri Ponente, Certosa: here we are talking about neighborhoods that experience this discomfort and need certain answers on the timing “.

“Living with this problem means breathing dust, having lost the quality of life and also the value of the properties. We need results in a short time,” added Mariagrazia Fiorani.

Plan

A Plan, defined with the Ministry of Sustainable Infrastructures and Mobility (MIMS), is underway on the entire national network under the responsibility of Autostrade per l’Italia to replace the “Integautos S” devices, or the integrated barriers both safety and noise pollution, in order to adapt their performance levels to the most recent Technical Construction Standards (NTC 2018). This plan was preceded by the precautionary disassembly of the panels that perform the sound-absorbing function, for all devices of the “Integautos S” type or similar type, and provides for the replacement with a new type of barrier, called “Integautos 2.0” which , in addition to adopting regulatory updates, it brings various improvements in terms of performance and maintenance.

From the acoustic point of view, the integral renewal of the sound-absorbing surfaces allows the system to be brought back to the maximum level of noise abatement envisaged by the project.

implementation strategy was defined according to two prioritiesdefined at national level on the basis of the level of protection required by each installation site, linked to the population density near the motorway infrastructure.

The interventions in Liguria

On the Ligurian networkwhere they are present beyond 34 km of devices to be redevelopedthe replacement works of the integrated barriers are therefore planned in such a way as to intervene first of all in the most critical sections, found through phonometric measurements on the receivers and monitoring.

The next implementation steps will see investments for over 25 million euroswhich will concern particularly critical sections of the A7 and A10 motorway.

In particular:

• from the second half of November the redevelopment works of the barriers will be started on ramps 1, 2/8 and 7 of airport junction in A10;
• within the end of 2022 the redevelopment works in the A7 will also continue with the restoration of the Bolzaneto sound tunnel:
• in the first quarter of 2023 instead, it will be the turn of the other areas between the A7 and the two connections with the A10 and A12, where both the integrated barriers and the sound tunnels on the southern carriageway will be progressively upgraded.

Finally, various discussions are underway with the local institutions for the start of the preliminary procedures relating to the delivery of the works in correspondence with the viaduct San Pietroon the left carriageway of the A10 motorway between Voltri and Pegli.

It is already being studied, through further technical checks, the scheduling of subsequent interventions.

“This is a complex schedule, since the restoration of the paneling must be reconciled with the construction sites envisaged by the maintenance and modernization plan underway throughout the network, with the aim of minimizing the impact on traffic and at the same time providing continuity of intervention in the various areas affected by the acoustic problem – reads a note from Aspi – The development of projects to replace integrated barriers also requires the execution of insights into infrastructures, both diagnostic and engineering, which involve a considerable time commitment to complete the investigation and design activities. It should also be noted that the works will not concern the simple replacement of the previously disassembled sound-absorbing paneling but, having to adapt the system to the most recent technical standards, provide for the demolition and reconstruction of parts of work to support the system itself “.

Everything must also take into consideration the particular conformation of the Ligurian motorways: “The limited spaces available in the most sensitive sections make the execution phase itself particularly complex – reads the note again – For example, in particularly sensitive contexts of the network often there is the need to operate at night, with therefore reduced productions. Finally, there is a need for reshape construction sites in conjunction with summer exodus, holidays and / or other events of a cultural / economic natureon the recommendation of the institutional institutions with which a permanent discussion table is active aimed at activating the construction sites as quickly as possible while limiting the inconvenience to traffic “.

Today, in the meantime, it should have taken place a summit in Tursi, which, however, was skipped: “As regards the council commission convened by the Municipality for today, Monday 31 October, Aspi, given the short notice and being the technicians in charge in Rome, had given its willingness to participate in connection – Autostrade said – The Municipality has deemed to postpone the meeting in the coming weeks, allowing the company’s technicians to organize themselves to participate in presence “.