Overview
- Local officials in Maerkang said worsening mountainside deformation on Tuesday triggered slides that destroyed the approach span and roadbed, sending a section into the river.
- Police shut the 758‑metre crossing on National Highway 317 on Monday after detecting cracks and ground shifts, evacuating stranded vehicles and cordoning the site.
- The bridge, completed earlier this year by Sichuan Road & Bridge Group near the Shuangjiangkou hydropower project, remains closed with detours as crews monitor slopes and assess damage.
- A formal technical investigation is underway to determine whether the failure was solely geological or if design or construction factors also played a role, and no reopening timetable has been given.
- Verified videos widely shared on Chinese platforms show the span giving way as dust billows from the collapsing mountainside, renewing scrutiny of infrastructure in China’s mountainous west.