– When a bridge on the E6 can collapse as happened in Badderen, it is obvious that the Swedish Road Administration has not had good enough routines, says Divisional Director Bjørn Laksforsmo in the Swedish Road Administration. – Therefore, we are already taking measures that can reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future. In July this year, it emerged that changes in current conditions and increased erosion were important reasons why the bridge was close to breaking, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration states in a press release. The final report is now ready. It supports the surveys from earlier this summer. The Swedish Road Administration will now strengthen monitoring of bridges, as a result of the bridge collapse in Badderen in Nord-Troms. Nationwide mapping The Swedish Road Administration has initiated more thorough investigations of all national road bridges that cross rivers and lakes in several spans. They will be examined using an underwater camera and a boat. Information about the individual bridges must also be digitized, so that the information must be easily accessible. In Northern Norway, there are 81 multi-span bridges that cross rivers or lakes, according to the Norwegian Road Administration. 47 of these need further investigation. The Swedish Road Administration has so far inspected 34 bridges, and will examine 13 in the spring. They will also carry out a nationwide survey which will be completed within the next year. Sole on loose masses According to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, there are several hundred national highway bridges that have more than one span and pillars or columns that have foundations in water. Such bridges require close follow-up, they state in the press release. – We have an aging bridge mass and many bridges that are not constructed in an optimal way. This means that we need more customized inspections, checks and maintenance measures. The experiences from Badderen show that we have not been sufficiently aware of this, says Bjørn Laksforsmo. The Badderen bridge was founded with a sole directly on loose masses. According to the National Roads Administration, this is not a problem in itself, but they had underestimated the impact of flooding. There was therefore a need to better protect it against erosion, the report states. Bjørn Laksforsmo, director of operations and maintenance at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, acknowledges that their routines have not been good enough. Photo: Gunhild Hjermundrud/news New bridge to be built After the bridge collapse in Nord-Troms, a temporary bridge was set up. Work on planning a new bridge is now well under way, according to the Swedish Road Administration. According to the plan, they will start building the new bridge in 2024, and aim for it to be completed in 2025. The old, damaged bridge will also be demolished. This is what it looked like when the temporary bridge was erected earlier this year. According to the plan, a permanent bridge will be ready in 2025. Photo: news
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The Swedish Road Administration strengthens monitoring of national road bridges – news Troms and Finnmark
