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≡ CONSTRUCTION CONCERNS ≡
“A cooling pipe was disconnected and found in the middle of the road, blocking traffic and creating significant disruption to the construction site of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Milan Cortina 2026, also in view of the IOC inspection scheduled for Monday 24 February.”
Friday’s announcement by the Italian government’s Olympic construction entity, the Societa Infrastrutture Milano Cortina 2020-2026 SpA, known as Simico, also noted:
● “The incident was reported to the competent authorities by Government Commissioner Arch. Fabio Saldini. ‘A disrespectful act that puts those who work day and night in difficulty’ said Saldini.”
● Saldini said on Friday evening that the situation had improved:
“During the day I had the opportunity to meet with the investigators and the Prefect of Belluno who in fact called the Committee for Order and Security tomorrow. From what has emerged there is no doubt that this was a malicious act, as also highlighted by the inspection carried out today on the building site by the technicians of the company that produces the refrigeration pipes.
“Today the pipe, weighing 500 kilos, was permanently hooked and fixed inside the building site.”
So, the work continues and the authorities are investigating, possibly for other acts of sabotage as well. In the meantime, the pressure of time continues, with certification of the track slated to begin in March, with the full length of the track completed.
The construction management team said Monday that the track will be delivered in time for inspection by 15 March. The certification activities are scheduled to begin on 24 March.
The rapid construction of the track required the clearing of several hundred trees and has drawn local criticism, with worries that it will not be used after the Games. The track built for the Turin 2006 Winter Games, was abandoned six years after for lack of use and environmental conditions.
There have been grave doubts about whether the track – for bobsled, luge and skeleton – can be completed in time, after years of delay and indecision on how to move forward from the now-removed Eugenio Monti track used for the 1956 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina.
After receiving no bids from construction firms to do the job, the specifications were re-configured and an €118 million agreement was reached last year (~$123.6 million U.S.).
The International Olympic Committee has been skeptical of the track project from the time Milan Cortina was awarded the Games and has urged the use of an existing, operating facility, for example in Innsbruck (AUT) or St. Moritz (SUI).
In fact, the Milan Cortina organizers have reached out to the Olympic Regional Development Authority in New York and, last December, named the famed Mt. Van Hoevenberg track as the back-up for 2026 … just in case.
The building of the new Cortina track has been a political hot potato in Italy for more than a year, and Saldini and others have pledged that it will be finished in time. Obviously, there are some folks who don’t want that to happen.
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