Fire - Michael Bridge closed to traffic for weeks after fire
The Michaelbrücke bridge in Berlin-Friedrichshain is expected to be closed to traffic for several weeks following a fire. A wooden hut under the bridge caught fire on Wednesday morning, according to a police spokeswoman. The flames spread to the structure and damaged it.
According to the Senate Department for Transport, structural engineers discovered "extensive damage to the southern abutment and the superstructure, including the bearing structures" after the fire. The stability of the structure was not endangered, they said.
Detailed tests will now be carried out to determine the extent to which the load-bearing capacity of the structure may be impaired. Cleaning and further investigations are necessary and initial results are expected in around four weeks.
Until then, the structure must remain fully closed to traffic, according to the traffic administration. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic, which had also been temporarily suspended for safety reasons, will be able to use the bridge again in both directions to cross the Spree.
The bridge connects the districts of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Mitte. The police are investigating the fire for damage to property. The hut in question was inhabited by homeless people, according to the police spokeswoman. No one was on site at the time of the fire.
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The wooden hut that was inhabited by homeless individuals served as a potential source of the fire underneath the Michaelbrücke bridge in Berlin-Friedrichshain. Despite the damage, the bridge's structural stability remains intact, but it will remain closed to both car traffic and pedestrians for about four weeks for thorough investigations and cleanings. The Berlin police are currently investigating the incident for property damage.
Source: www.stern.de
