Structural assessment of the access bridges to the citadel of Alessandria

Restrictions imposed last December on vehicle traffic on the access bridge to the Citadel of Alessandria highlighted the need for a detailed assessment of the structure’s static behavior, in order to plan and carry out urgent safety interventions and, above all, to ensure accessibility in case of emergencies.

For this reason, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism – Regional Secretariat for Piedmont – commissioned Foppoli Moretta and Associati to carry out a diagnostic campaign aimed at determining the geometric and structural characteristics of the solid brick masonry of the access bridges to the Citadel of Alessandria.

The access bridge to the Porta Reale was investigated in detail, with exploratory surveys on the foundations, core drilling inspected with video endoscopes in the piers, endoscopic inspections of the arches, and flat jack tests on the piers and vaults. The results of these investigations allowed a thorough characterization of the structure, providing essential data for the structural modeling and verification of the bridges.