Abruzzo-Molise
Trigno Bridge, businesses on the brink: Confesercenti Abruzzo and Molise calls for a crisis meeting
8 July 2026 | 09:40
The regional associations write to the Regions, Anas, and the Prosecutor's Office: "We need compensation, alternative routes, and certain timelines." Economic activities report increasingly heavy damages while the bridge remains under seizure pending developments in the collapse investigation.
More than three months have passed since the collapse of the bridge over the Trigno, but for hundreds of border businesses, the emergency is far from over. In fact, it risks worsening with the peak of the summer season. For this reason, Confesercenti Abruzzo and Molise are launching a joint appeal to the institutions, requesting the immediate opening of an interregional crisis table and concrete measures to support an economic fabric they now describe as "on its knees."
The request is contained in a letter sent to the presidents of the Regions Marco Marsilio and Francesco Roberti, to the relevant assessors, to the presidents of the Provinces of Chieti and Campobasso, to the mayors of San Salvo and Montenero di Bisaccia, to Anas, and for information, also to the Public Prosecutor's Office of Larino.
"Months after the collapse," write the regional presidents Daniele Erasmi and Antonio D’Ambrosio, "the total paralysis of traffic on such a strategic artery is causing incalculable economic damage." According to Confesercenti, the consequences are now evident to all: transport forced onto long alternative routes, increased logistics costs, decreased tourist flows, and increasing isolation of commercial activities operating between Abruzzo and Molise.
The two associations specify that they have "full confidence in the work of the Public Prosecutor's Office" and recognize that the seizure of the area is necessary to allow investigations into the causes of the collapse. At the same time, however, they ask the institutions to find a balance between investigative needs and the economic needs of a territory that continues to pay a very high price.
Among the proposals put forward are the establishment of a permanent crisis table with the Regions, Anas, municipalities, and economic representatives, the search for alternative road solutions, extraordinary compensation for the most affected businesses, and a discussion with the judicial authority to verify the possibility of a partial or conditional release of the area, compatible with the needs of the investigation, so as to allow at least the start of planning and initial safety measures.
This request comes as the investigation coordinated by the Larino Prosecutor's Office continues on two fronts: on one side, determining the causes of the viaduct collapse, and on the other, the search for Domenico Racanati, the fisherman from Bisceglie who has been missing since April 2. To coordinate the next investigative and operational activities, Chief Prosecutor Elvira Antonelli has called a technical meeting for July 15 with the Ministry of Infrastructure, Civil Protection, Anas, the Molise Region, the Basin Authority, Fire Department, Coast Guard, Navy, Military Engineers, and other involved entities.
The goal will be to plan subsequent interventions, including dredging of the Trigno in the area where the magnetometer has detected anomalies in the magnetic field, a step deemed necessary to continue the search for the missing person and complete the technical assessments that must precede the final release of the bridge.
It is the absence of a certain timeline that now most worries the productive sector. "Businesses can no longer wait," warns Confesercenti, announcing that, in the absence of concrete signals, the association is ready to promote mobilization and protest initiatives to protect the economic activities of the two territories.
