Load test for Elbe bridge starts

Preparations for a three-day load test of the closed Elbe bridge in Bad Schandau have been completed and will start as planned this Tuesday. This was announced by the Saxon Ministry of Infrastructure in Dresden. Test drives with a remote-controlled vehicle are planned in order to determine the load-bearing capacity of the bridge. The vehicle will be gradually loaded with more and more weight and steered over the bridge at a slow speed. The bridge has been closed for months.

The final technical requirements for the test were created at the beginning of the week, according to the ministry. The remote-controlled vehicle and weights had arrived and a test control station had been set up. The data is to be recorded and evaluated there.

Following a positive test, limited traffic opening

It is a question of the remaining load-bearing capacity - if the test load is positive, the bridge should be "quickly reopened to limited traffic". A decision on a possible reopening of the bridge is to be made and implemented within one to a maximum of three weeks.

The Elbe bridge is equipped with sensors and measurement technology that can be used to continuously record the condition of the bridge even after the load test. The measuring systems are used to record any deformations, cracks and, above all, tension wire breaks inside the bridge that are not even visible to the eye.

The Elbe bridge in Bad Schandau was unexpectedly closed to all traffic on November 7 for safety reasons. Shipping traffic can now pass again without restriction. This was preceded by a special inspection following the partial collapse of Dresden's Carola Bridge.
As the bridge in Bad Schandau was built immediately after the Carola Bridge using a similar construction method, it is similarly at risk of so-called stress corrosion cracking, which is considered to be the cause of the collapse in Dresden.