ARCUS Atlas record
Bridge over SS626
Total collapse of a viaduct span on the SS626 national road near Gela (Caltanissetta, Sicily) on 21 May 2009. With collapse=TC and triggered=FALSE, the failure was spontaneous, attributed to design and construction defects rather than an external trigger. Three people sustained injuries in the incident. The SS626 corridor in Sicily has been repeatedly affected by viaduct failures (cf. Viadotto Verdura 2013, Viadotto Petrulla 2014) attributable to the poor quality of 1970s–80s construction on geologically unstable terrain.
- ARCUS ID
- IT09.05.01
- Date
- 2009-05-21
- Municipality
- Gela
- Province
- Caltanisetta
- Region
- Sicilia
- Coordinates
- 37.1856, 14.1474 · exact location
- Crossing
- SS626
- Use
- National
- Severity
- TC
- Structural type
- Beam bridge
- Material
- Prestressed concrete
- Cause category
- Human-induced
- Specific cause
- Design and Construction
- Failure trigger
- No identifiable external trigger
- Failure process
- Other documented mode
- Component involved
- Pier / foundation
- Cause evidence
- Documented
- Source confidence
- High
- Victims
- 0
- Injuries
- 3
Documentary sources (3)
- Cede giunto viadotto,rischio crollo (News · TGCom24 · 2009-05-21)
- Bridge collapses in Italy across the 21st century: survey and statistical analysis (Scientific · Journal Paper · 2025-01-01)
- I ponti italiani che crollano: SS626 in Sicilia, 2009 tra i casi documentati (News · Il Fatto Quotidiano · 2018-08-20)