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From /apa, September 11, 2024, 10:12 a.m.
Image: ROBERT MICHAEL (APA/dpa/Robert Michael)
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Parts of the Carola Bridge over the Elbe have collapsed.
Image: ROBERT MICHAEL (APA/dpa/Robert Michael)
DRESDEN. The Carola Bridge in Dresden is considered an important traffic artery in the city, spanning the Elbe in the city center. Now parts of the structure have collapsed in the middle of the night and it has become clear: the city has narrowly escaped a catastrophe.
Every day, dozens of cars, trams and cyclists drive over the structure, which is one of the city’s four Elbe bridges. Pedestrians also use it.
However, according to the authorities’ current knowledge, there were no injuries or deaths in the collapse. The police are assuming it was an accident, said a spokesman, and there is no evidence of external influence. The Dresden public transport company said that there was no tram on the bridge. This means that passengers and vehicles were not injured. Lines 3 and 7 travel on the bridge – even at night.
It was a close call, however: the last tram crossed the Elbe Bridge just 18 minutes before the Carola Bridge partially collapsed. The tram crossed the bridge at 2:50 a.m. and the bridge collapsed at 3:08 a.m., the Dresden transport company announced in the morning.
Image: ROBERT MICHAEL (APA/dpa/Robert Michael)
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Parts of the Carola Bridge over the Elbe have collapsed; the State Chancellery can be seen behind it.
Image: ROBERT MICHAEL (APA/dpa/Robert Michael)
According to the situation center, the partial collapse affected the pedestrian and cycle path as well as the tram tracks. According to the Dresden fire department, the collapse affected a length of 100 meters. According to the fire department, a gap of about one meter long has formed at the bridgehead on the side of the old town. District heating pipes were also damaged and hot water was leaking out. “District heating is currently out in the entire city,” the fire department said. Due to the leaking water, parts of the terrace bank are completely under water.
It is still unclear how parts of the bridge came loose at around 3 a.m. However, the fire department is currently assuming there is an acute risk of collapse. “We expect that further parts of the bridge could collapse,” said a fire department spokesman on site on Wednesday morning. He called on people to stay away from the bridge as much as possible. “There is a risk to life” on and around the bridge, it said. A drone squadron is currently in use to assess the extent of the damage. Part of the bridge collapsed in the early hours of the morning, but no one was injured.
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It was still relatively quiet in the area early in the morning. However, significant disruptions are to be expected during rush hour, and trams and car traffic are being diverted. The federal waterway is closed, the police announced, as are the Elbe cycle path and the terrace bank. “Experts from the individual trades, the city administration and all partners involved are currently meeting to discuss the next steps,” the fire department said.
No short-term release
Road users must also assume that the remaining sections of the bridge will remain closed until further notice. The remaining two bridge sections will not be reopened in the short term, said Holger Kalbe, head of the bridge and civil engineering department of the city of Dresden. Car traffic crosses the Elbe there. Diversions will be set up. The collapsed section of the bridge was connected to the other bridge sections at one point. There was also damage there. The entire structure must now be checked.
The collapsed bridge section of the Carola Bridge in Dresden was supposed to be renovated next year. Other parts of the bridge were only opened to traffic in March 2024 after months of renovation. The city of Dresden wrote this on its website. In addition, a traffic trial on the bridge was supposed to run until the end of the year with the aim of making the bridge safer for cyclists and pedestrians. The trial and the project were controversially discussed.
The city of Dresden has been dealing with the condition of the now partially collapsed bridge for years, Kalbe stressed. That is why bridge sections A and B of the Carola Bridge have already been renovated. “It was not foreseeable that the condition of bridge section C would be so bad that it would collapse. You just can’t stay inside a structure like that.”
ePaper