A video that was released online yesterday has attracted a great deal of attention.
Under the sunlight, an overhead pedestrian crosswalk stretched across the road. In the middle of the bridge, a crack can be clearly seen. Suddenly, the bridge broke from this crack and both ends fell towards the highway surface below, causing dust to fly everywhere.
The collapsed bridge was one that spanned the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway, known as "the highest" pedestrian overpass on the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway. On the 22nd, due to a landslide, cracks and misalignments had already appeared in the bridge, and people originally planned to demolish it with explosives. However, it couldn't wait to be blown up, and chose to collapse on its own. This self-determined decision caused approximately 300,000 cubic meters of earth and rocks to block the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway.
Two consecutive days of landslides
On the 21st, a heavy rainstorm triggered a mountain slope landslide at the 1920km+420m mark on the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway. There was an 80-plus meter long, 5-meter wide, approximately 50-meter high pedestrian overpass here, known as the "highest" one on the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway, which consequently developed cracks and misalignments.
On the 22nd, after inspection by engineering technicians, it was found that the walls of the vehicular rib arch bridge under the overpass had cracked in multiple places and the crown of the bridge had arched upwards in the middle, severely damaging the bridge and endangering the safety of vehicles passing on the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway. Therefore, it was decided to demolish the bridge with explosives and rebuild the overpass.
At around 3:30 PM on the afternoon of the 21st, the Chengdu-Ya'an Expressway Traffic Police Brigade No.2 implemented bilateral traffic control on the section where the overpass was located.
However, during the night of the 22nd, another sudden downpour hit Ya'an, and with the erosion of the rainwater, a serious landslide occurred on one side of the slope near the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway.
Thus, the overpass couldn't wait for others to blow it up.
Both sides of the mountain were soaked loose by the rain
At around 7 AM yesterday morning, the local landslide intensified. "With a loud bang," the overpass collapsed, and the traffic police stationed outside the control point also heard the tremendous sound of the collapse.
Upon arrival at the scene, it was discovered that a landslide had occurred on the right-hand side mountain in the direction from Ya'an to Chengdu. The mudflow covered the expressway, stretching over 300 meters long, about 200 meters wide, with a total collapse volume of more than 300,000 cubic meters. The collapsing bridge body pulled down part of the mountain, burying all four lanes of the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway in both directions.
"Previously, cracks had already appeared in the overpass. Due to continuous rainfall and unstable geological conditions on both sides of the mountain, the landslides on both slopes of the overpass pulled at the bridge foundation, leading to the collapse of the overpass." A relevant person in charge of the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway company said that since the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway had already implemented traffic control in advance, no accidents involving vehicles or personnel occurred, resulting in no casualties.
It is expected that half of the road will be repaired by Sunday
After the overpass collapsed, the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway company immediately organized construction units to enter the site for emergency repairs, while continuously increasing the number of construction machinery and personnel. One responsible person said that based on the current progress, it is estimated that by Sunday this week, half of the road section will be repaired and reopened for traffic.
The collapsed pedestrian overpass connects five villages including Changping and Shuangtian, serving as an important passage for the residents in the surrounding area. Currently, relevant units are negotiating to construct a temporary emergency pedestrian passage near a culvert to ensure the travel needs of nearby residents. "After the complete repair of this section, a new overpass will be rebuilt for the use of local residents," this responsible person indicated.
Apart from this pedestrian overpass, other bridges on the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway have not been damaged and no safety hazards have appeared.
Bidirectional closure, detour recommended
As early as 3:30 PM on the afternoon of the 21st, the Chengdu-Ya'an Expressway Traffic Police Brigade No.2 implemented bidirectional traffic control on the section where the overpass was located.
Chengdu-Ya'an Company revealed that during the period of road repair, considering driving safety, the Taiping to Mingshan section of the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway still remains under traffic control. The previous control plan will remain unchanged until this section of the road fully meets the conditions for vehicle passage.
Starting today, the section between the Taiping toll station and the Mingshan toll station on the Chengdu-Ya'an expressway will be closed in both directions.
Vehicles traveling between these two sections can detour via the National Highway 108 Qiong (Lai) Ming (Shan) section or take the Qiongming Expressway (Weibo).
Small vehicles traveling between Chengdu and Ya'an can reach their destination via the Chengwenqiong Expressway and the Qiongming Expressway. Early reporter Zhang Shu of Tianfu Morning Post