Overview
- The city began a multi‑night, fully instrumented load test on Monday using four heavy vehicles that together apply roughly 326–330 tonnes while the bridge is closed at night to collect stability data.
- Officials activated temporary steel and concrete emergency supports before the test and are focusing the trials first on span C, where inspectors found the majority of broken prestressing wires.
- Teams are recording acoustic, strain and tilt data with about 122 acoustic, 64 strain and 32 tilt sensors to detect new wire breaks, deformations and stress patterns as vehicles pass.
- Experts link the damage to Hennigsdorfer prestressing steel and stress‑corrosion cracking, and officials note a similar Bad Schandau test in 2025 allowed a restricted reopening under weight limits.
- The test itself costs about €900,000, emergency work has totaled roughly €5.5 million, and officials say analysis of the results will determine near‑term traffic rules or whether planning should move ahead for a replacement estimated near €140 million.