In June 1999, the Municipality of Venice drafted a preliminary plan for a fourth bridge over the Grand Canal. Using a public selection process, they commissioned Santiago Calatrava in November 1999 to design the new bridge. Calatrava's response was an arched bridge with a large radius which was designed to be constructed off-site and installed entirely from the canal.
Design
designed an arched truss bridge with a radius of, with a central arch, two side arches and two lower arches. Girders placed perpendicular to the arches join them together. The girders consist of steel tubes and plates, which form closed section boxes. The stairway on the bridge is paved with pietra d'Istria, a stone traditionally used in Venice, alternating with tempered glass steps illuminated from below by fluorescent lights. The parapet is also tempered glass, terminating in a bronze handrail with concealed lighting. The contractor which had the task of constructing of the footbridge was Cignoni. Design and installation studies were carried out by a specialized group: professors Renato Vitaliani and Francesco Colleselli for geotechnical and foundation aspects, the company Mastropasqua-Zanchin & Associates Structural Engineering for the steel arch and weldings verification, Fagioli Group and Giorgio Romaro for the installation activities. The internal structure can be appreciated by looking at a cross-section of the bridge exhibited outside at the waterfront, located between the Railway Directorate Headquarters and the Santa Luciarailway station. After fabrication, the bridge was moved into place by a large barge in July 2007.
Controversy
The bridge has received heated criticism and seen inauguration delays and walk-outs, which originated from three main grievances: the lack of wheelchair access, lack of necessity and its modernist-minimalist style being incompatible with Venice's decorative medieval architecture. Ponte di Calatrava has many steps embedded in its relatively steep pavement, which means elderly people have difficulty climbing it and wheelchair users are excluded from crossing. Due to lasting protests, a mobility lift system resembling cocoons was eventually installed in 2010, incurring large costs, since it was not part of the original design. The official budget for the project was, but actual costs have escalated significantly. The placement of a new bridge a mere stone-throw from the existing Ponte degli Scalzi bridge has also proven controversial, since the distances between Scalzi and Rialto Bridges or between the Rialto and Ponte dell'Accademia bridges are severalfold longer, and with no other way to cross the canal besides the waterbus or traghetto. There is also no permanent connection between Venice and the well-populated Giudecca island, although a tunnel has been proposed at not much greater cost than a bridge, promising better access for tourists and residents. In April of 2019, the Italian Court of Auditors ordered Venice to scrap the lift system, on the grounds that it was an expensive failure. The decommissioning will cost the city at least €40,000. The court placed blame on the projects' managers rather than the city government for the fiasco, paving the way for legal action by the latter against the former.
