Several trees considered unsafe by the Consorzio Autostrade and therefore destined to be cut down. This is the result of the report commissioned by the same Cas to an expert agronomist after the tragic accident that occurred last year on the Messina-Palermo. The 43-year-old from Messina Francesco Maniaci lost his life on October 9 after crashing with his car against a tree that had fallen onto the road at the height of Campofelice di Roccella. And it was precisely this episode that triggered careful checks on all the shrubs positioned on the edges of the A20. The man’s family, shortly after the tragedy, had filed a complaint-denunciation with the Prosecutor’s Office against the Consortium itself, hypothesizing the crime of aggravated manslaughter.
The first interventions have already been carried out along the ring road in recent days. A dozen pine trees that had been planted between the two carriageways near the Tremestieri junction were cut down. Operations that did not go unnoticed by the many passing motorists who on social media asked for explanations on the felling of the shrubs. The Cas responded by listing various reasons that led to the drastic decision.
Trees are no longer considered compliant after a new directive from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. The damage caused by the long roots to the asphalt was also noted, which in some places was deformed while their position was also considered dangerous in the event of accidents. A change of direction compared to the legislation of the 70s which at the time allowed the artery to be decorated with planting of different essences. And it is the trees that pay the price. For their
elimination the Cas has put out a tender in recent days. In the meantime, monitoring has been started on the entire network under management to prevent fires. Weeding and cleaning interventions are underway on the green areas and the slopes that flank the highway. The aim is to avoid what happened last year when the A18 Messina-Catania went haywire due to numerous fires.
