L’Aquila, April 6, 2009: an unforgettable date for the people of Abruzzo and all of Italy, but especially for the municipalities of L’Aquila. At 3:32 a.m. on April 6, 2009, the destructive tremor of magnitude 6.3, equivalent to 5.8 on the “Richter scale,” struck L’Aquila, wounding its pride and heritage.
Strada dei Parchi, faced with that tragic news, promptly intervened without hesitation, trying to limit as much as possible the inconvenience to the road system and allowing the rapid passage of relief workers to the places affected by the earthquake. The tremors that affected the area, prior to April 6, were very frequent, and in view of a possible intervention, Strada dei Parchi was prepared and ready for any eventuality. They were not prepared for such a strong tremor, but thanks to the garrisons and alert systems of the Traffic Police, the road patrols and the 28 manned highway stations and the operations room, they had a “real time” picture of the situation.
Strada dei Parchi immediately realized the many and serious damages caused to the viaducts due to the “subsultory and undulatory motion of the earthquake. “ Misalignments had occurred in the viaduct joints of about 20 centimeters, such that traffic was endangered. Thus, it was arranged to close the highway section at 03:40 from Tornimparte station to Assergi to check the condition of the viaducts, facilitated also by the fact that at that hour, traffic was completely absent. The viaducts were promptly secured to facilitate the transit of the first relief vehicles to the earthquake areas. The highway, on that occasion, became a real “transit artery” for relief vehicles heading to the earthquake areas.
The whole thing, was managed and coordinated by Surveyor Igino Lai, General Director of Operations, who took immediate action. Awakened in the middle of the night by the earthquake’s oscillations, felt in his home in Rome, he inquired about the situation by phoning the operations room and quickly reached the earthquake zone. Lai experienced firsthand the earthquake emergency in Irpinia, in the province of Avellino. That experience marked him deeply and never left him again.
That very memory gave him the strength to react in the face of that new reality in L’Aquila, giving all the necessary directions to the Strada dei Parchi intervention teams. Lai closed, with his car, the stretch of highway from Tornimparte to allow the intervention teams to make the necessary checks on the state of the viaducts located along that stretch to Assergi.
The Chief Operating Office, Surveyor Franco Pappalardo, was also alerted by Director Lai to intervene on the spot along with all highway departments including those in Rome.
Lai instructed that an “Italian Tricolor” be hoisted on the highest part of L’Aquila as a symbol of courage, to urge the people of L’Aquila to react and at the same time to testify before all of Italy that L’Aquila was still “standing” and had not bowed. The flag was hoisted on a radio tower present in West L’Aquila, 54 meters high, by surveyor Pappalardo and colleague Emiliano Burgamazzi. To this day, the tricolor is still there as if to testify to a moment of brotherhood and the courage of a city wounded in the soul that is getting back up and above all“Lest we forget.”
