Preparations are underway for the opening of the Elbe bridge in Bad Schandau

After the load test on the closed Bad Schandau Elbe bridge, preparations are underway for its possible opening next week. Subject to the final examination of the measurement results, a two-lane traffic route for vehicles up to 7.5 tons will be set up from tomorrow, as announced by the State Office for Road Construction and Transport. The aim is to open the bridge by April 10.

S163 completely free again from Saturday

The traffic restrictions on state road 163, which were necessary due to the load test, are to be lifted from Saturday at the latest. The parking lot at the Elbe bridge and the Elbe cycle path along the left bank will then also be fully usable again. The removal of the large-scale equipment used and the dismantling of the temporary barriers will continue until this afternoon.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the load-bearing capacity of the bridge was tested with a heavy-duty module and weights of up to 300 tons in total. The results are currently being evaluated and checked. Next Thursday (April 10), the Ministry of Infrastructure in Dresden will provide information on the evaluation and the next steps.

Bridge closed since November

The Elbe bridge in Bad Schandau was unexpectedly closed to all traffic on November 7 for safety reasons. This resulted in considerable restrictions, as the nearest bridge for road traffic crosses the Elbe 20 kilometers away in Pirna. Shipping traffic can now pass again without restriction.

This was preceded by a special inspection following the partial collapse of Dresden's Carola Bridge. Henningsdorf prestressing steel is used in both structures. As the bridge in Bad Schandau was built immediately after the Carola Bridge using a similar construction method, it is similarly at risk of stress corrosion cracking, which is considered to be the cause of the collapse in Dresden.