Italian PM set to reopen Genoa bridge two years after fatal collapse

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Sunday described the opening of the new Genoa bridge, which replaces one that collapsed two years ago killing 43 people, as a "symbol of a new Italy" on the eve of its inauguration.

On August 14, 2018, the Morandi motorway bridge, named after the engineer who designed it, gave way during heavy rain, hurling dozens of cars and several trucks onto railway tracks below. 

The replacement bridge, a high-tech structure with advanced safety mechanisms designed by famed Italian architect Renzo Piano, is due to open to traffic on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

"Tomorrow, I will be in Genoa for the inauguration of the new bridge," Conte wrote on his Facebook account on Sunday.

"From a wound that is slow to heal to the symbol of a new Italy which is recovering."

The inauguration ceremony will be a bitter-sweet occasion with the families of the victims who are refusing to take part, and meeting 10 days later to mark the second anniversary of the tragedy. 

The speed with which the new bridge has been erected has been impressive. 

Italy, often criticised for the slow pace of the execution of public works, worked hard to complete the bridge at the end of April...