Traffic on the Agra Bridge south of Leipzig has to be restricted for safety reasons. From Friday, cars will only be allowed to drive on one instead of two lanes in each direction across the 1970s structure, as announced by the Ministry of Infrastructure. "The safety of road users has top priority."
In the coming week, the permissible load of vehicles will also be reduced to 3.5 tons. Cars will also have to drive slower than before to relieve the strain on the bridge.
The measures are the result of a more detailed investigation of the bridge, which has been ongoing since November 7. It was built in 1976 using Hennigsdorf prestressing steel, the same material that was used for the collapsed Carola Bridge in Dresden. The Agra Bridge is one of 19 bridges in Saxony that have been under special observation ever since.
The prestressed concrete bridge, over which the Bundesstraße 2 federal highway runs, has been the subject of discussion for many years. It is considered dilapidated. It has long been restricted to a speed limit of 60 km/h. At the same time, it is a bottleneck for traffic entering Leipzig from the south. The restrictions that have now been imposed could lead to traffic jams.
During the investigations, the road surface was opened in five places. Material samples were taken and are being examined in the laboratory. In addition, an expert is to carry out calculations on the load-bearing capacity of the bridge. The results are expected by the end of the year.
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