Overview

• Demolition teams have erected a 13,000-ton temporary embankment and are using long-arm excavators to lower and break apart the remaining A and B spans with a year-end removal target.
• Shipping under and around the Carolabrücke has been suspended since early June and wider navigation restrictions will stay in place through September to facilitate the work.
• City councilors postponed their recommendation on a two- versus four-lane replacement, with critics warning that a four-lane design would cost about €30 million more and protesters calling for a slimmer, bike-friendly structure.
• A June review by bridge experts confirmed that stress corrosion cracking in prestressing steel, not earlier surface corrosion, caused the September 2024 collapse.
• The €17 million demolition plan follows an evaluation of 11 methods and aligns with expert advice to use a steel composite design for the new bridge instead of concrete.