Infrastructure security, the ANSFISA White Paper in Trento

The technical focus of the day coincided with the official presentation of the White Paper on hydrogeological instability and transport infrastructures, a programmatic document drawn up to coordinate urban planning with the control systems of road networks. The study highlights the need to overcome the fragmented management of environmental critical issues, proposing theintegration of digital platforms for monitoring bridges, viaducts and railway lines exposed to water and geomorphological risks. The data that emerged confirms that almost all Italian municipalities have areas subject to hydrogeological criticalitiesa factor that requires a review of ordinary maintenance plans for civil works.

Regarding the evidence emerging from the document, Domenico Capomolla, Director of ANSFISA, highlighted the value of local territorial models: “From the White Paper emerge improvement proposals for more effective risk management and greater protection of road, railway and fixed installation networks. What clearly emerged from the study conducted is the importance of ordinary maintenance. The constant care of the territory even in small things. This organizational model, which for many reasons in the last twenty years has been abandoned and greatly weakened, here in Trentino and Alto Adige still resists”.

The transition towards long-term financial planning was at the center of the intervention Alessandro Morelli, Undersecretary of State at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, who declared: “In recent years the State has significantly increased investments aimed at mitigating hydrogeological risk. However, alongside financial resources, there is a need to improve the capacity for planning, coordination and implementation of interventions. It is a profound cultural change. For too long Italy has chased emergencies. Today we are progressively building a culture of prevention. A culture that means intervening before the damage occurs”.

The specificity of Alpine logistics management and the balancing of traffic flows were analyzed by Maurizio Fugatti, President of the Autonomous Province of Trento, who underlined: “Trentino can count on consolidated experience in land care, prevention and civil protection, which must be constantly strengthened. Among the priorities are the management of traffic along the Brenner motorway and the transfer of flows from road to rail, pursuing a balance between environmental protection, quality of life and territorial development”.

The framework of national strategic works and the application of new digital technologies were finally outlined by Edoardo Rixi, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport: “While the country carries out strategic works such as the Trento ring road, the Brenner Base Tunnel and the strengthening of the road and railway networks, it is essential to guarantee safe, efficient and adequately maintained infrastructures. Digitalisation, the use of new technologies and close collaboration between institutions and territories are essential tools to make the infrastructure system increasingly resilient, improve mobility and ensure the continuity of connections even in the presence of calamitous events“.