On September 11, 2024 , part of Dresden's Carola Bridge collapsed - it was dilapidated! Miraculously, no one was hurt. Five months later, the demolition work is still not finished. On the contrary: Due to further cracks in the structure, the demolition work has been stopped for the time being. Inland shipping, which had only just resumed, is also temporarily suspended. "There is currently an acute risk of collapse," says bridge expert Steffen Marx from the TU Dresden.

The disaster occurred at 3 a.m.

According to Marx, a total of seven prestressing steel breaks were found on Monday on the large pillar on the Neustadt side. The new dangerous situation is currently being investigated, he said, and urged quick action. "The demolition must take place as quickly as possible." But at the moment it is probably still too dangerous for the workers.

FDP criticizes slow demolition of the bridge
The FDP criticized the slow demolition of the bridge. The fact that 160 days after its collapse, not even half of it has been completed is embarrassing for Dresden and Germany. "To date, there is no concrete solution as to how the bridge should be rebuilt. Neither the planning period, nor the start of construction, nor the financing have been clarified," said Torsten Herbst, member of the Bundestag. The reconstruction of the collapsed motorway viaduct in Genoa in less than two years shows that it is possible to build a large bridge quickly, even within the EU-wide legal framework.

After the collapse, the city was temporarily unable to be supplied with district heating.

Five months of closure of the Elbe

The passage under the structure was only opened to inland shipping two weeks ago with restrictions. "It has been completely closed again since Tuesday morning," said the deputy head of the Elbe Waterways and Shipping Office in Dresden, Helko Fröhner. Now the engineers' expertise must be awaited. It must be assessed whether the partially collapsed bridge will hold and whether ships can be allowed through again.

The two bridge sections that are still standing are closed to vehicle traffic, as is section C, which has collapsed over a distance of around 100 metres and is currently being demolished. Their demolition has also been decided.





Source: Lifeblog_MF