DRESDEN: After the collapse of the Carola Bridge! Terrible fears! Now a flood situation threatens

How safe are Germany's bridges? After the partial collapse of the Carola Bridge in Dresden, this is a very legitimate question. Road salt probably caused the metal used to corrode. In principle, of course, bridges in Germany are closely monitored, but people are still nervous after Dresden. Hamburg is now the first city to react with drastic precautionary measures, as Perdita Heise reports. The Norderel Bridge in Hamburg, which is crossed by more than 130,000 vehicles every day and represents an important connection between Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, is now closed to vehicles weighing more than 40 tons. This affects between 2 and 20 large-capacity and heavy-duty transporters that currently use the route every day. The reason for the closure: During the last general inspection of the Norderel Bridge, damage to the supporting structure was discovered, which needs to be further investigated, according to Autobahn GmbH. The exam was in July. With the immediate closure, Hamburg is apparently the first city to react to the collapse of the Carola Bridge in Dresden. The pedestrian and cycle path as well as the tram route collapsed over a length of around 100 meters last night . The bridge, one of the most important traffic arteries in Dresden's city center, has long been considered a need for renovation. In recent years, parts of the bridge have already been renovated for car traffic, and the renovation of the now collapsed bridge was planned for next year. Chloride compounds from road salt may have weakened the stability of the bridge structure. In any case, it is clear that this is a material fatigue process in which, for example, a mixture of salt and water causes corrosion in the area of ​​the supporting structure. The next few days will reveal exactly what happened. The investigations in this regard are being conducted by the responsible building experts. The rest of the bridge is now considered at risk of collapse. Securing them is now the top priority, especially as there is a risk of flooding in the region. If parts of the bridge block the Elbe like a dike, the old town of Dresden could be flooded. The collapse in Dresden raises concerns about the condition of bridges across Germany and calls for far-reaching investments. The Association of Cities and Municipalities is calling for an investment offensive for infrastructure. According to experts, this is urgent and absolutely necessary. Basically, one can say that when it comes to large bridges, all bridges that were built before 1980 are considered problematic. Dresden shows very clearly: It's five to twelve. For the Central Association of the German Construction Industry, the collapse in Dresden is, as they say, a sad symbol of the German infrastructure that shows the urgent need for action. Lutz Stordel is still on site in Dresden and is monitoring the situation. What can you say about the condition of the bridge at the moment? How are the security measures going ? That turns out to be relatively difficult. Everything is an extremely complicated process. The bridge apparently looks the same as it did yesterday. Every now and then a water police boat drives past here to take photos of the broken part. We see that here. Up there, what looks like overhead wires are the tracks. How you can dismantle them, from wherever, is completely unclear. We see that it is clear: for now there will be no more shipping traffic to Saxon Switzerland. So the White Fleet simply ca n't sail here anymore. We see this bridge, it will probably never be able to be used again . This means that a main traffic axis will be eliminated. At least they managed to ensure that district heating was secured again throughout Dresden last night. We had a situation where pipes had burst due to the collapse of the bridge, and this had led to tons of hot water escaping. That's safe, it was possible to secure it via other lines. Yes, and now the Federal Agency for Technical Relief is on site here. They are now trying to secure the bridge supports with pallets , but that is not entirely clear. So this bridge can't be done again be constructed in the form. That means that now that you fear or assume that the remaining parts will break off or collapse, if that doesn't happen, then you have to blow it up somehow. So you also have to see how you can get these parts out of the Elbe down here. They can't stay there forever. You have already mentioned that there is a threat of flooding. So this is a complex thing. You continue to sit and you haven't really made any progress with any knowledge, not even when it comes to the cause. We heard it, it could have been chloride from the GDR era. If that was the case - and one was already pretty sure in the first statements - then the question arises: If one suspected that, how could the bridge have been in operation for so long? These are many open questions, all of which still need to be clarified. I would like to come back to this flood aspect . We hear that a lot of things are coming down in the Czech Republic. This could push the water level of the Elbe even higher. What would actually be the consequences if the water level increased in Dresden? We can first give the slight all-clear: we have low water at the moment. It hadn't rained at all for a very long time, so the Elbe is not at a high point where something could happen now, but rather low water. But it 's like this: the predictions vary. No precise weather models have yet been created. Extreme rain is supposed to fall, and we always had the problem during the last floods here on the Elbe that it was this rainwater that the Czechs had to release from the dams at some point . Yesterday there were discussions with the Czech authorities about whether this could be stopped this time until we were a little further here, until the porters had perhaps been taken out of the Elbe. The Czechs said: “No, we are not endangering the security of our own population just to mitigate this problem here in Dresden.” So this water, when it comes, will come. Then we have a few days until the tidal wave gets here. But it is also clear that if the remaining parts collapse and form a kind of dam, then that will be a blockage for the water. Then you really have to wait and see how much it is. We spoke to the fire department again this morning. You simply don't have any models yet, you can't say how much will come. In this respect you cannot react. When the tidal wave comes, you still have two to three days' warning until this wave reaches Dresden itself. And then you have to see: An enormous amount has been invested in flood protection here . It is impossible to say exactly what will happen to the bridge now. The water then works too. Then it is also possible that the parts that are now lying here, if they have not been taken out yet, will be swept away by the tidal wave. Maybe we'll continue down the Elbe, where the next one will come, the Augustus Bridge. These are models. We work on it every day and we will also approach the press again today. Maybe then there will be more precise new insights. Now many people in Germany are very concerned about the condition of the bridges in general. This bridge wasn't even really classified as being in acute danger of collapsing, but this catastrophe still happened, fortunately without any injuries. How bad is our bridge infrastructure in Germany? There are 16,000 bridges in need of renovation, so there are places where we need to go. Now the whole thing is really a complicated story: rehabilitating bridges while traffic is ongoing is extremely difficult. We can look at it again here. This bridge basically has three strands. Now the two rear strands that are still hanging - you can only see one from here - have been renovated in recent years. But it wasn't a general renovation, it was just replacing the asphalt layer. The concrete structure underneath, which collapsed here in the first part, dates from 1971. It was not touched upon during the renovation. Also what you had actually planned - you wanted this Also renovate the tram line – it would only have affected the surface. Then we have to say: We also have the problem with motorway bridges. There is a huge increase in truck traffic. These bridges are now loaded with weights for which they were not designed. Here on the A14 between Leipzig and Dresden we have the Muldental Bridge, which, like this bridge, was built in 1971. They said: “A new one must be built in 2020.” It is now 2024 and the temporary building is not making any progress. The work is idle and nothing will happen in 2030. When construction experts then say: “Yes, well, in all the reports we submit, there is a real certainty, 100%, we cannot make any statement,” then you start to feel a little uneasy. If we think about the fact that the last tram passed over it 18 minutes before the bridge collapsed - there could have been massive deaths here if it hadn't been so fortunate that the bridge collapsed at a time when no one was on it, none Car drove over it, no pedestrian walked over it. There is an investment backlog. For many bridges it is certainly not even a question of money, but rather a question of how to renovate while the highway continues to operate. Cities have problems with their bridges. This has certainly been neglected for a long time. It takes forever to build a new bridge. Tenders, architectural competitions, then come conservationists. Here in Dresden, the construction of the Waldschlösschen Bridge was endlessly delayed because of a bat that was then never seen again. This is a very complex topic. Here in Dresden we will suffer from this collapse for months, perhaps years, in terms of traffic policy and the traffic situation in the city, because one of the main axes has broken down. A topic that will keep us busy for a long time. Lutz, thank you very much for the moment in Dresden.