The bridge broke with a loud bang overnight on September 30 when a heavy truck drove across it. The bridge shifted sideways and rose 40 centimetres.
We have brackets that hold the ends down with great force, and we can now confirm that one of these brackets 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 of it shifting further. The hope is that it can be moved within a few days, once enough counterweight has been put in place.
"We need to let safety precautions guide our work. This is not about 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 part of the renovation.
The fact that the bridge broke when a 100-tonne vehicle crossed it should not be taken as a sign that granting the truck a permit to cross was a mistake, the director general emphasizes. The maximum weight for vehicles crossing without a permit is 74 tonnes, 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 closed. 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 route is a 40-kilometre gravel road that would need to be upgraded, she says. The emergency ferries that will soon be put into service will not be enough for all the traffic. Strömsund’s residents are already exhausted after the lengthy renovation period.
Patience is starting to run out among our residents. That’s what I hear as a municipal councillor, she says.
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