Bridge collapse on M20

[bitchstewie]

Looking at that I think it's amazing nobody was killed or seriously injured

• Nobody was on the bridge
• Nobody was under the bridge
• Nobody drove into a suddenly appearing concrete wall @ 70mph

[Brigand]

There have been bridge works taking place on the bridge just past jct4 (London bound) for a few months now. It may well have been one of those that collapsed, although I think the works are focussed on a main road bridge rather than a pedestrian one.

[DaveH23]

Daily mail says it was a digger that hit the bridge and caused it to colapse.

[hairyben]

Reports something fell off one lorry and damaged lorry hit it and was flipped up taking out bridge. Sounds like a die hard movie.

[The Nur]

bhstewie said:

Looking at that I think it's amazing nobody was killed or seriously injured

• Nobody was on the bridge
• Nobody was under the bridge
• Nobody drove into a suddenly appearing concrete wall @ 70mph

Apparently there has been one injury, a biker, suspected broken ribs so I'm going to assume he dropped it in the chaos immediately after the collapse. Glad to be corrected when more information comes out though.

This could have been a hell of a lot worse.

[Smollet]

Obviously a terrorist attack. Thought I'd get in first

[Muncher]

DaveH23 said:

Daily mail says it was a digger that hit the bridge and caused it to colapse.

Bridges on the A12 are continually being hit by diggers on the back of flatbeds, a few times in the last couple of years they have required extensive repairs and big roadworks.

[bobbo89]

glazbagun said:

Impressed at how strong the remaining half is. Not that I'd want to walk on it but I'd have expected the whole lot to fail at once.

The remaining section actually has less load on it now so technically it'd be safer to walk on

[oobster]

Yep, judging where they appear to be treating someone, if that is the biker that dropped it as the bridge was falling then he/she is one lucky bugger.

[MX51ROD]

Looking at the video,who in their right mind would drive under the remaining unsupported part of of the damaged bridge?

[oobster]

Not sure you are correct there FunkyChunker

[Bristol spark]

FunkyChucker said:

don'tbesilly said:

I don't think that's the digger in question, if that had hit the bridge there would be some evidence of a collision.

I think it's the one in this pic, you can see it in the background:

That's the same digger and clearly not involved.

That one is Orange, the one on the flatbed is yellow.....

[Collectingbrass]

scenario8 said:

All that jazz said:

Munter said:

The Daily Mail is reporting it was the digger on the trailer.

That's only a "duck" as they're known in the industry. Won't have been that. There's a ~ 20 tonne red digger at 20 seconds in the video in my post above which shows the arm partly raised - it's likely to have been that imho.

That duck is hard as nails to have smacked that bridge down and suffered no damage or movement. Don't mess with that duck.

The disruption must be causing all manner of pain in the area.

The machines are the same one in both the picture and the video.

The digger's arm isnt low enough. For transport the front bucket should be the other way round, and the bucket knuckle much lower, which would bring the joint of the two arms much lower too. I would also question whether the machine is on the right height of trailer.

This is what it should look like:



Flannery are a large plant hire firm and don't normally get this wrong, so all together it makes me wonder whether the machine has been stolen. Certainly it looks like the lorry driver doesn't know what he is doing.

[don'tbesilly]

Bristol spark said:

FunkyChucker said:

don'tbesilly said:

I don't think that's the digger in question, if that had hit the bridge there would be some evidence of a collision.

I think it's the one in this pic, you can see it in the background:

That's the same digger and clearly not involved.

That one is Orange, the one on the flatbed is yellow.....

Having looked again FunkyChucker is correct, check out the phone number on both pictures, it's the same.
The colour of the digger in question does look different in the 2 pictures which was what made me think they were different diggers.

Having looked at the picture below, which is of the bridge pre - collapse, there appears to be a distinct mark mid pointish (just above the car) which looks like the same point the bridge has collapsed from.
It could be the picture though!

[scenario8]

Wish the roads round there normally were as empty as that image...

[bobbo89]

don'tbesilly said:

Having looked at the picture below, which is of the bridge pre - collapse, there appears to be a distinct mark mid pointish (just above the car) which looks like the same point the bridge has collapsed from.
It could be the picture though!

That's just the point at which the two sections that make up the bridge join, nothing dodgy!

[SilverSpur]

The front of the 'digger' is clearly showing concrete impact on The sky video

Hard to believe such a 'small' impact can bring down a bridge. You'd have thought it would have torn it off the lorry altogether.

[Elysium]

All that jazz said:

Can't see it being a truck that's done it. The one pictured is foreign so won't be more than 4 metres tall. Motorway bridges in the UK all have at least 5 metres clearance.

The partly raised arm on the digger in this video looks rather suspicious to me, especially given the proximity to the bridge. Is that sat on the back of trailer as it looks rather high off the deck to me? :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwmU6dF68mU

Yep. Minimum motorway bridge height in the UK is 5.3m. HGV's are nowhere near this height particularly the European ones.

The bridge has separated at a movement joint. You can see the formed stepped edge if you zoom in on this image:



The two pictures of the excavator are interesting. In one the bucket is raised and in the second it is tucked in behind a tipper truck. If it is the same machine (phone no's match) then someone has moved it for some reason?

[don'tbesilly]

bobbo89 said:

don'tbesilly said:

Having looked at the picture below, which is of the bridge pre - collapse, there appears to be a distinct mark mid pointish (just above the car) which looks like the same point the bridge has collapsed from.
It could be the picture though!

That's just the point at which the two sections that make up the bridge join, nothing dodgy!

I get where you and FunkyChucker are coming from, but that point does seem to be where the two halves have parted company,admittedly it could have been as a result of an impact, and not necessarily at that point.

Edit: Just seen Elysium's post about the movement joint, which explains the above comment.

Edited by don'tbesilly on Saturday 27th August 15:24

[scenario8]

don'tbesilly said:

bobbo89 said:

don'tbesilly said:

Having looked at the picture below, which is of the bridge pre - collapse, there appears to be a distinct mark mid pointish (just above the car) which looks like the same point the bridge has collapsed from.
It could be the picture though!

That's just the point at which the two sections that make up the bridge join, nothing dodgy!

I get where you and FunkyChucker are coming from, but that point does seem to be where the two halves have parted company,admittedly it could have been as a result of an impact, and not necessarily at that point.

I would have put my house on that being the point of separation as it is blooming weak laterally at that point. Have you ever tried to knock through reinforced concrete?