Riva-Sperone Tunnel: Four-Month Construction, Bypassing EU Tenders
Within four months, the tunnel between Riva and Sperone will be usable even if not all details are fully completed. This was announced yesterday to the Undersecretary of Public Works, honorable Bargone, by Engineers Bortolotti and De Col from the Province of Trento. The government representative gave the green light: there is no issue, considering the urgency of the project, to bypass the European tender procedures and proceed directly with awarding the works. Today, the province will specify the timeline and methods for constructing the tunnel.
Authorities’ Interventions and Implementation Timelines
Deputy Mayor Pietro Matteotti for Riva, Engineers Bortolotti and De Col for the Province of Trento, and the Councillor Paolini, responsible for Public Works in Lombardy, had flown to Rome yesterday intending to explain to Undersecretary Bargone that engineers have condemned the old route to death, that the only solution is the tunnel, and that technical timelines up to the day before yesterday suggested starting work by spring 2001 at the earliest. Then they pulled a trump card from their sleeve.
If it had been possible to shorten the bureaucratic procedures of the tender process, the province guaranteed the excavation could be completed within four months. The project is ready, and they presented it to the government representative. Funding is not an issue, as they can allocate even the 70 billion lire needed for the tunnel. The undersecretary’s response exceeded expectations.
Emergency Procedure and Financial Allocations
They traveled to Rome to request a government measure declaring the area an emergency zone, convinced that this basis would make it possible to avoid the lengthy European tender process. The undersecretary assured that there is no need for government intervention: the province, on its own initiative, can declare a state of necessity and act accordingly. Therefore, according to Bargone, it falls within the competences of Dellai and Casagranda to resort to the very rapid procedure.
The province already has 4 billion lire allocated since last year for removing the rock face of Rocchetta: work has started two days ago. An additional 7 billion, totaling 11 billion, has been allocated to measures following the latest landslide, aimed at securing the current route, which will still be used by trucks and other vehicles involved in the construction site. As is known, the province plans to excavate a 150-meter tunnel from the current Gardesana directly inside Rocchetta, reaching the depth of the future Riva-Sperone tunnel. This way, excavation can advance from four fronts, minimizing the total construction time.