Riva Authorities Commit to Ponale Road Restoration Amid Report Disputes
Recently, rumors have been circulating regarding Engineer Castelli’s expert report on the geological stability of the Rocchetta’s rock walls, which suggests it would be impossible to achieve an acceptable safety level in the section corresponding to the northern slope of the Sperone valley. The assessor Matteotti does not agree. “Personally, and the entire Riva administration, we stand firm on the agreement signed by four provincial assessors, Grisenti, Casagranda, Berasi, and Molinari (the latter for historical reasons related to the fortifications of the Ponale rampart), in front of two mayors, Malossini of Riva and Angioletta Zecchini of Molina, during the delivery of the ten thousand signatures collected to ask for the preservation of the Ponale. The agreement is very simple: at the end of August, the assessors will come to Riva to present a feasibility study for restoring the Ponale. This means they will outline the methods and costs for reopening the road. No one should dare to say that recovery is impossible: washing your hands of it is an unacceptable attitude.”
Expected developments on the project and Ponale safety
In about a month, the Riva administrators expect to see also a small environmental restoration project for the cycle-pedestrian recovery of the Ponale. Deputy Mayor Matteotti also complains that there is still no official news about Engineer Castelli’s expert report, only rumors. “If the circulating leaks aim to preempt Riva’s municipal government with the news that nothing will be done for the Ponale, they have the wrong address. The council’s position is well known and has been announced: we will never accept, under any circumstances, to wave a white flag on a project in which the executive has invested much of its credibility.”
The road’s usability will be partial, meaning that it will not go beyond a trail accessible for bikers and pedestrians, the latter possibly encouraged to visit the defensive works built along the Ponale line. A heritage of culture and history that many have been calling for years to recover.