Early on Sunday evening, part of the E45 collapsed and between 20-30 vehicles were stuck on the road for several hours. Initially, the Swedish Transport Administration stated that a landslide had occurred, but on Monday it was established that this was not the case.
Instead, heavy downpours are believed to have been behind the incident.
– Landslides mean that landmasses have moved, but what has happened here is that there has been very heavy rain, so it is primarily water that has been moving, says Felicia Danielsson, press communicator at the Swedish Transport Administration.
No one was injured and the last stranded motorists could be evacuated from the stretch around 01 in the morning. The road is closed in both directions.
Unclear when the road will open
There is currently no forecast for when the section of E45 can reopen, according to the Swedish Transport Administration.
– It is impossible to answer at the moment. We are waiting for excavators to open up the road and see the extent, says Ryno Nilsson at the Swedish Transport Administration.
However, it is not entirely certain that both sides of the road are damaged. In the southbound direction, there was initially information that the road could open as early as Tuesday – but even that is too early to tell, according to Ryno Nilsson.
– We have to ensure that that side is undamaged. If we’re very lucky, we might be able to open that page to two-way traffic tomorrow, but it’s too early to tell.
Geotechnicians are working together with the Swedish Transport Administration on Monday to examine the situation and investigate exactly what has happened.
Frigolit on the road
Pictures from the scene show large blocks of styrofoam. It is a type of cellular plastic that the Swedish Transport Administration uses when building roads. The material is laid under the road surface to protect the road against frost.
– It might sound strange with styrofoam, but it is a common method. But when such large amounts of water come, it takes most of its path with it, which is what happened now at Lilla Edet, says Katarina Wolffram at the Swedish Transport Administration to TT.
Investigator Ryno Nilsson also explains that it is the styrofoam that for some reason has come loose from its mounts.
– Cellplast has set off for reasons we don’t really know yet.
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