Norway: landslide closes bridge amid concerns for infrastructure

A bridge carrying one of Norway’s busiest motorways remains closed after a major earth slide severely damaged its supporting columns this week. The bridge closure comes as Norway’s Public Roads Administration said it is concerned about the condition of 104 bridges throughout the country, although they remain safe to use. Two of the foundation pillars of the bridge at Holmestrand, along the Highway E-18 through Vestfold County, were affected and dropped a span by up to 1.5m, creating a severe dip and crack
February 12, 2015 Read time: 2 mins

A bridge carrying one of Norway’s busiest motorways remains closed after a major earth slide severely damaged its supporting columns this week.

The bridge closure comes as Norway’s Public Roads Administration said it is concerned about the condition of 104 bridges throughout the country, although they remain safe to use.

Two of the foundation pillars of the bridge at Holmestrand, along the Highway E-18 through Vestfold County, were affected and dropped a span by up to 1.5m, creating a severe dip and cracks in the road surface.

No injuries were reported, but several trucks and cars remain on the bridge close to the breaking point because it is too risky to try to back them up, according to a report in the English-language Norway Post.

Geologists and bridge construction experts will examine the bridge and foundations this week, but the structure is expected to be closed for several months.

NPRA said in its report this month that inspections of the country’s bridges have noted rust, disintegrating central support systems and rotting pillars, according to media reports.

Morten Wright, senior engineer at the administration, said that the NPRA prioritises the most serious cases when it comes to maintenance and contractors perform daily inspections of bridges.

The government increased maintenance funding by around 40% between 2014-15, according to Ketil Solvik-Olsen, minister of transport and communications.

Road Structures

Related Content

  • New international trade crossing linking Canada and US
    June 9, 2015
    The Detroit River is short, only 45km, and narrow in places, less than 1km. Around a quarter of the annual $658 billion Canada-US trade crosses over the river. That’s $160 billion worth of goods trucked each year between Detroit in the US state of Michigan and the Canadian city of Windsor in the province of Ontario - the Windsor-Detroit Corridor. There are several types of crossings, but the vast majority of commercial traffic must use the 2.3km Ambassador Bridge (see box). A new bridge was initially prop
    Read More
  • A serious side to England’s funny funnel bins
    December 14, 2017
    The UK and Australia are trying to reduce litter on motorways and free up maintenance teams to pursue more urgent – and less dangerous - work Giant funnel bins are being installed at a dozen UK motorway service areas in north-west England. The bins, either 1.8m or 2.2m high, are next to Give Way lines at the exit of service area car parks. The bins allow both car and truck drivers to reach the half-metre-wide funnels from their vehicle window. Highways England is hoping that the bins’ ease of use will en
    Read More
  • Major Europe-Asia bridge connection in Turkey
    July 1, 2014
    The 3rd Bosporus Bridge and the Northern Marmara Motorway will improve transport links between Europe and Asia and cut chronic congestion in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city - Mike Woof reports Work is now well underway on the 3rd Bosporus Bridge and the Northern Marmara Motorway, providing a new link for Turkish city Istanbul and the region as a whole. This enormous bridge and highway project is breaking several records for Turkey in terms of scale, as well as setting a number of international records for e
    Read More
  • Demand diversity in the construction equipment sector
    June 1, 2015
    Demand within the global construction equipment manufacturing industry is anything but homogenous, with certain countries and sales regions significantly outperforming others, with a whole host of factors fuelling and suppressing each key market - Guy Woodford reports
    Read More

Highlighted Content