Newly Built Bridge Partially Collapses in China After Alarming Mountain Shifts
A section of the Hongqi Bridge in China’s Sichuan province
gave way on Tuesday—just months after the project was completed. Local
officials say the collapse happened along a key national highway that connects
central China with Tibet, but thankfully no injuries have been reported.
The warning signs appeared a day earlier. Police in Maerkang
shut the 758-meter bridge to all traffic on Monday afternoon after cracks began
forming on nearby slopes and roads. Engineers also noticed the terrain on the
adjoining mountainside had started to shift, raising concerns that something
bigger was coming.
Those concerns proved right. By Tuesday afternoon,
conditions on the mountainside deteriorated sharply. Landslides followed, and
the approach section of the bridge along with the roadbed gave way. Videos
shared by state media showed a massive plume of dust rising from the river
below as the structure crumbled.
The Hongqi Bridge had only recently opened. Construction
wrapped up earlier this year, according to a promotional video from Sichuan
Road & Bridge Group, the contractor behind the project.
Authorities are now assessing the damage and monitoring the
area for further landslide risks. For now, the highway remains closed as crews
try to determine exactly what caused the ground beneath the bridge to shift so
dramatically.
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