A highway bridge in China’s South Western Sichuan Province has collapsed partially, following a landslide. The 758m bridge was completed only recently and is part of a highway connecting to the city of Maerkang.
Heavy rainfall in the area is believed to have triggered the landslide, which ripped away the approach section at one end of the bridge. Although a truck was on the bridge at the time of the collapse, the driver was unhurt and there were no casualties as a result of the incident. Cracks had appeared the day before the collapse and the stretch of road had been closed to traffic by local police.
The Chinese authorities are already commencing an investigation into the cause for the collapse. The bridge is of a conventional design, made of precast concrete beams with a concrete deck and sitting on top of reinforced concrete pillars and was completed earlier this year having been built by Sichuan Road & Bridge Group.
Chinese bridge engineering is typically of a high quality and the country has built some incredible structures. The collapse appears to have been a result of the landslide, which suggests that the slope at one end of the structure was not secured sufficiently. The area also has a high incidence of seismic activity, raising further questions as to why the slope above the bridge approach had not been better stabilised.
