Works progress on collapsed Dresden bridge

The bridge collapsed in the early hours of September 11, 2024. (PHOTO: City of Dresden)

The cantilevered bridge, which carried both cars and trams over the River Elbe, suffered a major structural collapse on September 11, 2024.

A 100-metre section of the bridge’s tramway line—known as Section C—fell into the river, leaving other sections ‘hanging’ in a critically unstable state.

Although only Section C of the Carola Bridge collapsed, inspections assessing the integrity of Sections A and B—which run parallel to Section C— are still underway.

Recently however, local authorities have said that: “By the end of January 2025, the fairway is to be restored over a width of 30 to 50 meters in such a way that at least individual ships can pass under the Carola Bridge in a predetermined time window with special permission.

“For this purpose, the current data from the monitoring of bridge sections A and B will be used.

“A general opening of the federal waterway to shipping traffic below the Carola Bridge is not foreseeable for the time being.

“The entire bridge section C is to be removed by the end of April 2025 and the construction site cleared.”

Collapsed Dresden bridge demolished in just 47 hours Centro Environmental, assisted by the Bundeswehr, clears Carola Bridge