m25 bridge crash!!!

[woody paul]

There going to leave the rest up and let traffic under it what next brave company to say its safe.

[monkeybusiness]

There going to leave the rest up and let traffic under it what next brave company to say its safe.

 

If you look at the pics the remaining section is a big cantilever that formed the support for the bit that was pushed/slid off. It won't be going anywhere now, it is under less load than pre-collapse.

[scraggs]

One bloody lucky motorcyclist to get away with broken ribs, if what is being reported is true.

Looks like the axles of the trailer saved him.

 

[Breezeblock]

i would have expected the digger to be wrecked after hitting that

[Ilnumero]

the one on the A21 kept getting spanked until they took it down and changed it

 

The footbridge on the A21 was also hit by a lorry, carrying timber. There were 4x2s everywhere and they were all chucked into the verge. Recovered some myself! New bridge has just been put up, only took about 2 years.

[aspenarb]

I was looking at some shots of the fallen bridge from the end and it appears to have been made of steel in the form of a big lightweight box section. It would explain how a truck just knocked it of its perch so easily..

 

Bob

[scbk]

Don't know if it's true but have heard the vibrations from transport can cause digger arm hydraulics to rise (through non return valves) if they're not secured properly?

[gnfencer]

this happened around our area in the late 70s early 80s,

The driver had loaded the machine before knocking off for the night, someone else had gone onto the machine between him knocking off and starting next morning and left the jib sticking up , the driver was still told to, DCM .afterwards.

[Treewolf]

If you look at a pre-accident Google streetview image you can see that (a) the clearance under the bridge is much less over the hard shoulder on the London-bound carriageway, and (b) that the extreme end of the now-dislodged span is very thin, and presumably therefore light. It wouldn't take much to dislodge that.

 

It also explains why the damage to the excavator is so minimal, and it hasn't even broken the chains securing it to the transporter.

 

I think that the link below will show the view, if I've got it right!

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3088252,0.3800043,3a,75y,270h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sxKWMDHJZQ_cn9mgjemIkDg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

 

Given that the motorway was evidently fairly busy, it is a minor miracle that there were no fatalities and only one significant injury!

[Ruskins Trees]

The bridge was undergoing maintenance, the 'rollers' that allow it to expand and contract has been removed.

 

The lorry driver with the digger, thought it looked tight and had pulled into hard shoulder and slowed right down.

 

As I have been informed he hit it at very low speed.