It could have been a major disaster. A section of the Carolabrücke (Carola Bridge) in Dresden crashed into the River Elbe around 3 am on Wednesday. 

Miraculously, no one was injured. The last tram had crossed the bridge at about 2:50 am, just a few minutes before the structure collapsed. 

The fire service and engineers have been working tirelessly to try to secure the remaining parts of the bridge in case it crumbles. 

“There is still an acute danger to life and risk of collapse,” fire brigade spokesman Michael Klahre said on Wednesday afternoon. 

READ ALSO: Bridge partially collapses in German city of Dresden?

Are other bridges in Germany at risk of collapsing?

Experts have been warning for years that much of Germany’s public infrastructure badly needs updated. Following the collapse of a motorway bridge in Genoa in 2018, architect Richard J. Dietrich told a German newspaper: “Our bridges are rotting dangerously, and the risk of collapse can no longer be ruled out.”

Now the Dresden bridge incident is being treated as a warning for officials to act quickly. 

Bridge expert Martin Mertens slammed the poor condition of many large bridges across Germany.

The professor from Bochum University of Applied Sciences said largely all bridges built before 1980 are “problem patients”, adding that this is due to structures being thrown up in the construction boom after the Second World War. 

Mertens used a play on the German idiom, “Es ist fünf vor zwölf” – which translates literally to “it’s five to 12” and means “it’s almost too late” – to illustrate the crisis.

“Es ist fünf nach zwölf” (it is five past 12), he said, urging politicians to act now. 

The German Association of Towns and Municipalities has called for an “infrastructure investment offensive”. Managing director André Berghegger told German newspapers that local authorities lack the money urgently needed for renovations. 

Wolfgang Schubert-Raab, President of the Central Association of the German Construction Industry, described the bridge collapse in Dresden as a “sad symbol of Germany’s infrastructure”, which highlighted an urgent need for action.

How is the safety of bridges checked?

Bridges are tested fairly regularly, with each one undergoing a general inspection every six years. This usually takes place while traffic is still running and includes an inspection of all components. Three years later, a less complex ‘check-up’ is carried out to test the structure. 

Dieter Westerkamp, Head of Technology and Society at the Association of German Engineers, told Germany’s DPA this is sufficient. “In view of the low number of incidents involving around 130,000 bridges in Germany, this cycle seems to be proving its worth,” he said.

Meanwhile, each of the almost 40,000 bridges under the responsibility of the federal government regularly receives a grade based on these tests. In the most recent overview report by the Federal Highway Research Institute, almost 2,300 bridges received a rating of ‘very good’ for their condition. Around 200 were rated as ‘unsatisfactory’.

That means the majority of federal bridges are in good or satisfactory condition – although clearly there is need for improvement. 

“If the structural inspection reveals any impairment of stability or traffic safety, appropriate measures are of course taken immediately to ensure that the necessary safety is maintained,” the report states.

The Federal Highway Research Institute also tests the structural performance of bridges, i.e. the extent to which they can withstand traffic loads. According to these tests, numerous structures in western Germany in particular have exceeded their lifespan.

In response to this finding, at the beginning of 2022 Transport Minister Volker Wissing announced a package of measures for faster bridge modernisation. A total of 8,000 of around 28,000 motorway bridges have to be modernised in the long term.

Based on a survey of local authorities, the German Institute of Urban Affairs estimated in a report last year that every second road bridge is not in good condition. This means that their condition is worse than that of federal bridges.

Furthermore, there are around 3,000 bridges under the responsibility of German states that are in need of modernisation. However, there is no centralised recording of the condition of bridges at state or municipal level.

READ ALSO: How Germany wants to speed up infrastructure projects

A refurbishment programme is also underway at Deutsche Bahn. Almost half of the rail operator’s 25,700 bridges are more than 100 years old.

By 2029, DB wants to have completely or partially renewed 2,000 bridges. “Deutsche Bahn’s bridges are safe and are regularly and systematically inspected and tested,” the rail operator said.

What’s the reaction to the Dresden bridge collapse?

Investigators are trying to figure out the cause of the collapse. Police do not believe it was the result of a criminal act or other external factors.

One assumption is that corrosion was a major factor, said Steffen Marx, professor at the Institute for Concrete Construction at TU Dresden.

Built in 1971, the concrete structure was one of the first major constructions of its kind in East Germany, Marx said. 

The bridge, which is one of the most important traffic arteries in Dresden city centre, has long been considered in need of an upgrade. Parts of it have already been renovated for car traffic in recent years, and the focus was set to be on the now-collapsed bridge span in the coming year. 

Transport Minister Wissing pointed out in the budget debate in the Bundestag on Wednesday that more than €9 billion would be available for investment in federal trunk roads and bridges in the coming year.

However, when it comes to the Carola Bridge in Dresden, Wissing said that it was a municipal responsibility and therefore had nothing to do with the federal budget.

“You can see from this bridge how dangerous it is when infrastructure is not carefully invested in,” said Wissing.