A steel beam from a bridge collapsed onto the A81 motorway near Bad Dürrheim in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis district of Germany during construction work, injuring one worker. The beam fell onto a scaffolding structure and then onto the carriageway early in the morning.
The injured construction worker was taken to hospital; a police spokesperson said the worker's foot was broken.
The steel beam that crashed onto the carriageway was described as weighing several tonnes.
Motorway closed and diversions set up
The A81 was fully closed in both directions—towards Singen and towards Stuttgart. The detour was routed via Bundesstraße 27, and traffic heading towards Singen was diverted from the Bad Dürrheim interchange to the Geisingen interchange. The A864 motorway was also closed in the direction of the Bad Dürrheim motorway junction.
Backed-up traffic was temporarily guided backwards, against the normal direction of travel, from the A81 towards the A864 under police escort, according to authorities.
The partially erected support scaffolding is being inspected as a precaution.
A structural engineer was to inspect the bridge, which is located south of Bad Dürrheim near Oberbaldingen, according to Autobahn GmbH. A spokesperson for Autobahn GmbH Niederlassung Südwest said one of four steel beams of a support scaffolding crashed onto the carriageway during assembly. It was initially unclear whether the remaining steel beams provided sufficient support, and the police said it was still being investigated how exactly the beam fell.
Renovation work was being carried out on the affected bridge, and the partially erected scaffolding is now being checked. The A81 in the direction of Singen is thereby blocked, Autobahn-Gesellschaft stated.
The police asked travellers to expect traffic disruptions and to avoid the area widely. They expected restrictions to last at least until late afternoon, and a spokesperson for Autobahn GmbH said it was unclear when at least one direction could be reopened.
