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Germany Parks 24 Trucks On 50-year-old Bridge To Test How Much It Could Still Withstand
Germany parks 24 trucks close together in the middle of an autobahn bridge at a height of 136 meters (446 feet).
The 960-ton load was being used to test how much the badly damaged 50-year-old structure could still withstand.
While the test results are still being evaluated, setting a speed limit, closing it to heavy vehicles could extend the bridge’s life.
As many as 5,000 bridges along Germany’s autobahns need to be renovated or rebuilt as quickly as possible.
The Moseltal bridge in Germany recently underwent a stress test to see how much the badly damaged 50-plus-year-old structure could still withstand after cracks were discovered throughout the steel structure in early 2023.
During the test, twenty-four (24) bright red trucks (960-ton load) were parked close together in the middle of the wide autobahn bridge at a height of 136 meters (446 feet).
While the test results are still being evaluated, setting a speed limit and closing it to heavy vehicles could extend the bridge’s life – though DW notes that even these restrictions cannot rule out a sudden collapse.
But the Moseltal bridge is not an isolated case as many as 5,000 of the 40,000 bridges along Germany’s autobahns are in such poor condition that they urgently need repair.
“More than half of the autobahn bridges were built before 1985, including most of the major valley bridges in former West Germany,” DW said in its report.
“As they were designed for less traffic and lighter vehicles, the bridges are now so overloaded that many are showing signs of deterioration. On top of that, too little has been done in recent years to maintain them.”
