Munitions expert monitors bridge demolition in Dresden

Following the discovery of a World War II bomb on Dresden's Carola Bridge, demolition work will now be supervised by a munitions expert. He is to monitor and assess the movement of material through the use of excavators, the city administration announced. Explosive ordnance detection in the Elbe itself is not possible, as steel remnants lying in the river would cause a lot of disruption.

During demolition work on Wednesday, a 250-kilogram British-made aerial bomb was found. An excavator driver had retrieved it from the bottom of the riverbed. The bomb was defused on site on Thursday. Work on the bridge is now continuing. The action plan for emergencies has been expanded to include an "alarm chain for explosive ordnance", it was reported.

Removal of heavy bridge parts proves difficult

According to the city, two steel bridge joints are still lying in the Elbe at a depth of two to three meters. "The salvage of these massive steel parts, which are still connected to some of the tendons, is proving more difficult than expected. The parts could not be lifted from the previous location of the excavators". For this reason, the construction road in the Elbe had to be modified slightly in order to be able to work with a different angle and two grabs.

A section of the structure, which was inaugurated in 1971 and includes streetcar tracks and a cycle path, collapsed unexpectedly on the night of September 11. No people were injured. The main cause is thought to be corrosion caused by moisture. The bridge has to be completely demolished. This also affects the two bridges that have been renovated in recent years at a cost of several million euros. The city is planning a replacement structure.