The opposite carriageway, which has been completely refurbished, has reopened. Work between L’Aquila Ovest and Tornimparte is now more than 90 per cent complete
L’Aquila, 6 October 2026 – This morning, Toto Costruzioni Generali carried out the controlled demolition, using micro-charges, of the carriageway heading towards L’Aquila on the Valle Orsara viaduct, along the A24 motorway, between the L’Aquila Ovest and Tornimparte junctions. This operation marks a further, decisive step in the seismic retrofitting programme for the section managed by Strada dei Parchi, with works now more than 90 per cent complete.
The work comes less than a year after the demolition of the opposite carriageway, which took place on 15 October 2025. The viaduct in the direction of Rome has, in the meantime, been completely rebuilt, tested and reopened to two-way traffic: a configuration that now allows work to proceed on the reconstruction of the twin structure without interrupting traffic on a strategic route for the Civil Protection Agency and for connections between Rome and L’Aquila, as well as between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic motorway corridors.
This is a tried-and-tested operational method, which has so far enabled a total of 22 viaducts between L’Aquila Ovest and Tornimparte to be demolished, rebuilt and reopened to traffic. The structure, approximately 150 metres long and comprising four spans across two staggered viaducts, has been rebuilt on the left-hand carriageway using a composite structure of Corten steel and concrete, fitted with state-of-the-art seismic isolators, with the aim of improving its safety, durability and resilience.
The works were carried out on one of the most complex sections of the Italian motorway network, exposed to extreme temperature fluctuations and seismic stresses, and which, at Tornimparte, exceeds an altitude of 1,100 metres – a record altitude for the motorway network across the entire Apennines.
With the demolition of the second carriageway, the final phase of the viaduct’s reconstruction is now underway, whilst the entire programme between L’Aquila Ovest and Tornimparte is nearing completion. This result has been achieved whilst ensuring the continuity of motorway operations and working in a context characterised by high altitudes, staggered viaducts and particularly challenging climatic conditions.
