Setback in Bad Schandau: next dilapidated bridge about to be demolished

There will be further traffic restrictions in Bad Schandau next week due to a dilapidated bridge: The bridge over the railroad tracks directly in front of the Elbe bridge, which was only recently closed for months, will be partially closed from next week until further notice. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure in Dresden, traffic will only flow in one lane from Tuesday with traffic lights.

Traffic restrictions for Bad Schandau residents and tourists

This is the result of a special inspection of the bridge, which, like the previously closed Elbe Bridge, is similar in construction to the collapsed Carola Bridge in Dresden. This means that Bad Schandau residents and tourists on their way to and from Saxon Switzerland will once again have to prepare for traffic restrictions.

Material tests in the laboratory and recalculations by test engineers have shown that the bridge needs to be relieved, according to the ministry. Unlike the neighboring Elbe bridge, it is already clear that the bridge will have to be demolished and a new replacement built. A temporary bridge will therefore be necessary in the foreseeable future. According to the ministry, the preparatory work is in full swing.

Bridge must be permanently inspected

Parallel to the single-lane traffic light control, a "noise emission monitoring system" is to be installed, as was already the case on the Bad Schandau Elbe Bridge and previously on the Carola Bridge, in order to continuously detect any further cracks in the Hennigsdorf prestressing steel used. According to experts, its susceptibility to corrosion and the resulting cracks were responsible for the sudden collapse of the Carola Bridge in Dresden in September 2024.

It is yet another setback for Bad Schandau after the town only had reason to breathe a sigh of relief at the end of September: the test results for the neighboring Elbe bridge had shown that it was significantly more resilient than previously assumed. Since then, even renovation instead of demolition has been on the table again. From November 2024 until last April, the Elbe crossing remained fully closed due to the feared risk of collapse - with considerable consequences for the residents of Bad Schandau and the surrounding communities.

Both bridges along the 172 federal road in Bad Schandau are part of a total of 19 bridges of a similar prestressed concrete design under the responsibility of the road construction administration, the ministry added. They are all currently undergoing an intensive inspection.