#Overpass collapse drivers#

The workers told the drivers not to move into the middle of the bridge. Xiong told the media that the bridge was under maintenance when the truck passed. Experts told the media that such a type of bridge is very prone to collapse, especially when many vehicles are moving on the same side. The bridge had only one single-column pier.

The increasing number of overloaded cars is forcing transport agencies in multiple places to reinforce bridges, although these bridges were designed and built in accordance with laws and regulations, Li added. The tilt of the overpass doesn't mean that its design or construction didn't meet the standards or regulations, but it indicates that the weight of the 198-ton truck surpassed its safety redundancy - its initial design goal on safety,' emphasized Li.Īccording to Li, Chinese transportation authorities have been considering a rise in the safety redundancy of bridges to prevent similar accidents. 'The truck clearly broke the regulations, for it didn't leave the highway at the toll station it was supposed to. Li Faxiong, a researcher at the Research Institute of Highways at the Ministry of Transport, told the Global Times on Sunday that the tragedy happened either because of the truck or the overpass. One of the fallen trucks weighs 198 tons, which is nearly four times the bridge's maximum weight of 49 tons, said Song. Song Jianjun, a person in charge of the Hubei Edong Yangtze River Bridge Corp, believes a serious overloading problem was possibly the main cause, reported. A person surnamed Xiong who is in charge of the transport team is cooperating in the investigation and will take responsibility for the tragedy. My friends and I were so close to death,' said Wang.Īn investigation is underway. 'Three minutes later, the tilted bridge slid and squashed the car. Three trucks - belonging to the same transport team based in North China's Tianjin Municipality - moving in the same direction on the bridge fell off.Ī man surnamed Wang who drove the car that was crushed by the bridge said he and his two friends broke the back window and escaped after the ramp suddenly hit the front, reported on Sunday. The accident took place on Saturday afternoon when a 500-meter-long ramp overpass tilted to one side at nearly 90 degrees, crushing one car, which ran along the expressway under the bridge. In response, experts said that the authorities should raise the standards for bridge safety due to worsening overloading problems. Photo: VCGįour people died and eight others were injured in a highway bridge collapse in Ezhou, Central China's Hubei Province, where serious overloading was reportedly to be the cause, as the load of one of the trucks running on the bridge surpassed the weight limit nearly three times. Four people died and eight others were injured in a highway bridge collapse in Ezhou, Central China's Hubei Province, on December 19, 2021.

Overpass collapse