LECCE – Symbol, in the 1960s, of a highly innovative trend of structural engineering, the historic Ponte del Ciolo, located in the Gagliano del Capo area, is now back to new life and accessible to vehicles thanks to the Province of Lecce.
The ceremony which inaugurated the opening of the Bridge took place today, with the switching on of the lighting, the cutting of the ribbon and the passage of the first car. Present at the long-awaited moment were the president of the Province of Lecce Stefano Minerva, the provincial councilors Ippazio Morciano and Francesco Volpe, the mayor of Gagliano del Capo Gianfranco Melcarne, the manager of the Authority’s Road Service Luigi Tundo, the president of the Union Municipalities Terra di Leuca Gabriele Abaterusso, the civil and religious authorities.
About 60 meters long, the cutting-edge work, entirely from Salento, is located along the provincial road 358, the coastal road of the Adriatic coast of Salento, in correspondence with a rocky inlet about 30 meters deep. Since October 2006 it has been part of the Costa Otranto – Santa Maria di Leuca and Bosco di Tricase Park.
The Province of Lecce managed to obtain funding of over 4 million euros from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
Resources that made it possible to implement the project of rehabilitation, consolidation and seismic and functional adaptation (designer Claudio Giancane, project manager Anna Maria Riccio) of the majestic work, inserted in a landscape context of particular beauty, among the most evocative natural scenarios of Salento .
The company that oversaw the works is Consolidamenti speciali srl of Catania, subcontractor MGM srl of Vitigliano.
The president of the Province of Lecce Stefano Minerva cannot hold back his satisfaction: «Today is an unforgettable date for our organization and for the entire community I represent. With the reopening of the historic Ciolo bridge, made more beautiful, safe and accessible to everyone, we celebrate the confirmation of the good work done and the synergy used to achieve this memorable result. A team effort that saw the Province, Municipalities and other local institutions working together towards a common objective: to improve in every aspect, and in a short and certain time, a strategic infrastructure for Salento’s roads. We are ready to deliver this work to the people of Salento who live this splendid land every day and to the many tourists who will arrive, between now and the next few months, to discover or rediscover it, to experience it with all five senses in all its beauty, also made up of breathtaking views of sky, sea, nature and rocky overhangs, just like the one you can admire from the bridge. Because the Ciolo is not only cutting-edge engineering, but also poetry for the eyes.”
The original structure, with a Maillart-type shaped arch, was designed by the Lecce engineer Antonio La Tegola and built by the Province of Lecce between 1962 and 1967. Over the years, the bridge has been subjected to other maintenance interventions for the presence of the aggressive marine aerosol that affects surfaces. The works that were concluded on the “Ponte Ciolo icon of Salento” served to functionally recover the structure and adapt it to the new regulations, both in terms of traffic and seismicity.
The Ciolo is finally passable by all vehicles foreseen by the New Highway Code and complies with the new 2018 technical construction regulations. All the structural works are now protected through highly innovative materials, technologies and coatings, such as to give the bridge a useful life of at least 65 years, a period of time in which no other extraordinary maintenance interventions will be necessary. Through the widening of the overhangs on both sides of the roadway, the sidewalks are adapted to the legislation on overcoming architectural barriers, accessible to disabled people. Furthermore, in this way they are also suitable for the creation of a pedestrian and cycle path. On the road side and on the sea side, new innovative protection barriers of high aesthetic value have been inserted, which will also prevent dangerous dives from the top of the structure.
