Demolition of Carola Bridge possible sooner than planned

The remaining rubble from the collapsed section of Dresden's Carola Bridge can be demolished sooner than expected. According to the town hall, the Weiße Flotte Sachsen GmbH will refrain from passing under the Elbe crossing during its fleet parade on Thursday. The interruption of demolition work on bridge C planned for Wednesday and Thursday is therefore not necessary. And in the noise emission monitoring, which has been used to monitor the stability of the structure since the collapse, "no critical vibrations" have been detected on the two other, externally intact bridge trains.

After the installation of auxiliary supports made of steel pipe, excavators weighing 38 to 50 tons each have been breaking off the sagging middle sections of the collapsed bridge train on the ground since Wednesday morning. According to previous information, this has to be done evenly because they are lying on a pillar with the superstructures of trains A and B.

Remains of C will be gradually removed

Starting next week, first the cantilever and the ceiling of the box girder will be removed from both sides and then the footbridges and floor slabs. The debris will be crushed and the material will be reused later. On the other bridge sections, railings or overhead line masts for the streetcars are being dismantled and secured. At the same time, auxiliary structures made of well rings are being erected to support the bridge sections leading over land.

On the night of 11 September 2024, around 100 meters of the western traffic section of the Elbe crossing collapsed unexpectedly. Since then, the structure from the GDR era has been closed - and is in acute danger of collapse due to further fractures in the prestressed steel construction. The stability of its remains and debris, which is currently being demolished, is constantly monitored and shipping is restricted. The city council is to decide on a replacement for the Carola Bridge before the summer. The administration favors a quick and modern restoration of the Elbe crossing.