Skip to main content

Close call for operator in demolition accident

The crawler excavator operator in this incident had a close call when the bridge being demolished collapsed unexpectedly. The accident happened in Norway during the demolition of an old highway bridge.
June 18, 2013 Read time: 1 min
The crawler excavator operator in this incident had a close call when the bridge being demolished collapsed unexpectedly. The accident happened in Belgium during the demolition of an old highway bridge.

Related Content

  • 48 hours re-opening
    July 6, 2012
    Using demolition tools from Atlas Copco helped to maximise productivity on a highly time-sensitive project in Germany. The A3 autobahn runs from the Dutch/German border through the western part of the Ruhr area, the Cologne area, the Rhine-Main area and Bavaria down to the Austrian border at Stuben. It is one of the most heavily used highways in Germany and because of increasing traffic volumes, widening the road to six lanes has become necessary.
  • VIDEO: Explosive bridge demolition in Southern Italy
    February 15, 2016
    Italian contractor General Smontaggi has carried out a successful bridge demolition project in the south of the country. Explosives were used to remove the redundant Viadotto Caffaro Bridge carrying the A3 Autostrade. The 390m long structure had been found to be unsuitable for modern traffic requirements on the route, located in Calabria. The demolition project was not straightforward as the new bridge had already been constructed alongside the redundant structure. The extensive pre-weakening work for the old bridge included cutting into the deck to ensure it collapsed downwards.
  • Atlas Copco for Brazil bridge demolition
    July 2, 2013
    Brazilian demolition specialist Comprex was chosen to demolish a bridge connecting districts in the city of Vitória in the state of Espirito Santo. For environmental reasons, debris was not permitted to fall into the waterway under the bridge, and special arrangements had to be made for the removal of the demolition waste. Comprex chose Atlas Copco hydraulic breakers and CombiCutters for the jobsite where three new bridges have been built over the old bridge, which was no longer able to support the increasi
  • Canada: dump truck slams into bridge, partially demolishing it
    February 12, 2015
    In Canada, the driver of a dump truck that slammed into a pedestrian bridge, partially collapsing it on to road below, may have to pay for his mistake. Highway 132 in a suburb of Montreal was closed overnight while a demolition crew hastily tore down the remaining section of walkway over the road. Police are questioning the driver of the snow-removal dump truck who reportedly was travelling down the highway with his dumper raised, hitting the bridge which was built in 1979 and had recently undergone a US$