Landmark bridge was damaged by fire in 2021.

Rome's Ponte di Ferro will reopen on 17 March after the city carried out major works to widen and strenghten the landmark bridge between the Ostiense and Marconi districts.

Known officially as Ponte dell'Industria, the structure was seriously damaged in a massive fire in October 2021 and has been closed to traffic for almost two years.

The ambitious infrastructure scheme got underway in July 2023, with the city calling on the help of Norwegian experts who build oil rigs, Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri said.

The project cost €18 million, with €13 million from Jubilee funds and the rest financed by the city.

Riapre a breve il nuovo ponte dell'Industria

Dopo l'incendio dell'ottobre 2021, il nuovo ponte dell'Industria aprirà presto alla circolazione. In meno di due anni è stata portata a termine una sfida ingegneristica di altissimo livello.

Info https://t.co/u4mAEC87WS pic.twitter.com/rD4MDxCgl6

— Roma (@Roma) February 27, 2025

The new, stronger bridge can hold all types of vehicles, including city buses, and will have protected cycle lanes on either side.

The old bridge had a capacity of seven tons and could not support buses, however the new structure will be able to carry up to 30 tons, the city said in a statement.

The bridge will be incorporated into the routes of two bus lines: the 96 from Corviale and the 780 from EUR, both serving Ostiense.

Hailing it as a "titanic" job, Gualtieri acknowledged that the city had been overly optimistic to expect the bridge to be open last December but claimed that there are "few cases in which a bridge of that complexity is built in less than two years".

A brief history of Ponte di Ferro

The 130m-long bridge was built between 1862 and 1863 by a Belgian company to link the railway line of Civitavecchia to Roma Termini railway station.

The structural work was completed in England, with the bridge moved in sections to Rome where it was mounted.

In 1911, with the opening of the new station of Trastevere, the railway line was moved to the new Ponte San Paolo, further upstream.

The exterior of the 160-year-old structure was badly damaged by fire on the night of 2-3 October 2021.