Ever since a few passersby slipped on the new, slippery surfaces during the official opening of the Ponte della Costituzione - as it is now called - the sarcastic Venetians have unofficially dubbed it the Bridge of the Fallen (Ponte dei caduti).
The balustrade isn't in place yet either, and the elevator - which makes the bridge accessible to wheelchair users - is a particular problem, as its costs keep rising.
Questions about Cignoni's competence had already been raised during the construction of the bridge on the mainland; apparently, it's a company tradition to keep people waiting.
The only upside to the delay is that it gives the Venetians more time to reach a consensus on the nearly equally difficult question of naming the bridge: Ponte de la Zirada, as Mayor Cacciari had proposed, or Ponte di Santa Lucia? In any case, not "Calatrava Bridge" - that's just what it's called until a final decision is made on what to name it and when it should be inaugurated...
When the central section of the new Calatrava Bridge was placed over the Grand Canal on August 12 of this year, only the final touches remained to be completed.
The opening, scheduled for December 8, 2007, was just around the corner. But even the gloomiest predictions for New Year's and Carnival won't see any pedestrians on the bridge, as the contractor, Cignoni, requested a 145-day extension in mid-November.
Although the city government has not yet approved the request, December 8 has already passed. All the glass steps are still missing; they must be cut to millimeter precision in a trapezoidal shape, and each one must be cut differently.
