Three weeks after the removal of the destroyed section of Dresden's Carola Bridge, the demolition of its two still standing, externally undamaged traffic trains is now underway. Two large excavators began work on the middle section of string A this morning.
The excavators are first destroying the asphalt of the carriageway and the concrete of the carriageway slab from above and then exposing the tensioning wires. According to the town hall, Strand A is due to fall this week.
The excavators' tools will then be changed so that they can cut the steel wires with powerful shears until the bridge section falls. It is to be deposited on the drop pads that have been piled up over the past few days, formed from around 13,000 tons of material in the river.
120-tonne long arm excavator with 40-metre arm
A 120-tonne long arm excavator, which can reach over both traffic trains with its 40-metre arm, and a 70-tonne excavator with a 25-metre boom on the Neustadt bank will be used. Once strand A has fallen, train B follows the same procedure.
The debris is cut up and transported away. Work is being carried out six days a week - the remains of the structure should be completely removed by the end of the year.
On the night of 11 September last year, the third traffic line of the Carola Bridge collapsed unexpectedly over a length of around 100 meters. Since then, the structure from the GDR era has been closed.
The stability of the bridge remains is permanently monitored and navigation is restricted. The experts expect it to take ten weeks to demolish the middle section of the bridge over the river. The Elbe in Dresden will remain completely closed to shipping and boat traffic for this period.
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