The bridge broke with a loud bang overnight on September 30 when a heavy truck drove over it. The bridge shifted sideways and rose by 40 centimetres.
We have brackets that hold the ends down with great force, and we can now confirm that one of them has broken, the Swedish Transport Administration’s Director General, Roberto Maiorana, tells TT.
The truck remains
The truck is still on the bridge because of the risk that it could move even more. The hope is that it can be moved within a few days, once sufficient counterweight has been put in place.
"We need to let safety precautions guide our work. It is not a lack of resources," Maiorana says.
He does not want to say whether the bridge will be repaired before Christmas or whether repairs could be delayed until next year.
We will know more once we have removed the truck.
The Strömsund Bridge, built in the 1950s, underwent renovations until 2025, but the parts that broke were not included in the renovation.
The fact that the bridge broke when a 100-tonne vehicle crossed it should not be interpreted as a mistake in granting the truck a dispensation to use the bridge, the Director General emphasises. The maximum weight for crossing without a dispensation is 74 tonnes per vehicle, but several vehicles of that weight can cross at the same time. In this case, the truck was alone on the bridge.
“Patience is running out”
"It is an extraordinary event that the Strömsund Bridge is completely cut off. The community of Strömsund has been divided in two," says Susanne Hansson (S), chair of the municipal council, at a press conference.
The shortest diversion is a 40-kilometre gravel road that would need to be upgraded, she believes. The emergency ferries that will soon be put into service will not be enough to handle all the traffic. Strömsund residents are already exhausted after the long renovation period.
Patience is starting to run out among our residents; that is what I hear as a municipal councillor, she says.
