5 Bridge Failures from the Recent Past

Often times we hear incidents of structural failures in infrastructures. Structural weakening can come about to any structures of varied sizes affecting their capability to carry load. The occurrence can be ruinous basing on the rage of the causing agent or the size of the structure. Bridges are examples of those structures. A quake of higher magnitude than that used for design may cause a bridge to weaken and let down. Hefty ice accumulation in Iceland can impair the structural components of a bridge, thus the probable ice load need to be factored in while designing a bridge structures in those areas. There are areas which receive strong cyclones which necessitate stronger structural designs for a bridge. Most bridges are designed to support large loads, but still there is a limit which must be observed. Unsteadiness can be realized when undertaking some bridge fixations or when some bridge enlargements are being executed. So bridge design should be carried out by a pro or at least under supervision of practiced fellows. The magnitude of the load a bridge can carry is less considered by most bridge users. They trust that the bridge was engineered to support them without going for the details. With infrequency of well-designed bridges flunking, there are still some few incidences that have been recorded. Listed below are five such bridges which got desolated by various factors.

The Central Bridge of Italy reported to fall apart in 2017. It was designed to support a short-lived traffic after an overpass was temporarily shut down. Two people lost their lives besides the damaged road which was stricken by the collapsing bridge. The failing of supports to the bridge was attributed to their weakening as a result of the construction which was ongoing. More on the bridges that failed while being constructed include the following. Another instance was The Bridge crossing over River Savala which caused death to a citizen in 2018. Some two trucks were crossing over when the bridge went down.

The blight of The North Bengal Bridge, Siliguri, in 2018. Overloading due to users negligence was reported as the cause of failure. It was a requirement that loaded trucks should not use the bridge but most drivers did not heed the call. The bridge failed when a truck driver attempted to pass through. This happened just 3 days after another bridge collapse occurrence, which hurt the driver.

Italy Bridge collapse in Genoa which occurred in 2018. The witnesses seemed to believe that the bridge fallout was due to a deluge from the sky where lightning struck the bridge severely. The bridge broke and landed on the streets killing 37 people.