The Norwegian Public Roads Administration will install temporary bridges after it closed 14 timber structures following the collapse of the Tretten Bridge near Lillehammer.
According to Norwegian media reports, the 150m-long, 10m-wide Tretten Bridge – only a decade old – broke in two, collapsing into the river stranding two vehicles and their occupants. There were no casualties or injuries in the early morning accident on August 15, but one driver was airlifted to safety.
The bridge – two lanes with a pedestrian walkway – connects the E6 and county road 254 in Øyer municipality, just north of Lillehammer. The E6 is Norway’s main north-south highway while the county road is a local road that follows a similar route and is used as a bypass when the E6 is congested or closed.
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Statens Vegvesen, said the first installations are taking place to bypass the Tveit Bridge on the E16 in the municipality of Vang and the Moumbekken Bridge on national road 22 in Fredrikstad.
An increasing interest in wooden bridges has seen in the past few years as construction companies and local road authorities attempt to shrink their carbon footprint. Many wooden bridge remain in Europe and North America, including where, with regular maintenance they have withstood the impact of weather and increasingly heavy traffic loads for decades after opening.
