It will be some time before the Stallbacka bridge outside Trollhättan can open at full capacity. After Tuesday's fatal accident where a truck drove over the edge and caught fire, the Swedish Transport Administration has been on site to inspect the damage.
In addition to damage to the railing, damage to concrete, edge beams and asphalt has also been discovered.
Emergency services: "Catastrophe"
The emergency services were on site until 02 on the night of Wednesday to extinguish the fire. Officer in charge of the watch, Mathias Jonasson, describes the whole thing as a difficult extinguishing job. Due to the cab hanging over the edge, the emergency services had difficulty extinguishing the fire there.
"A catastrophe like this on such a heavily trafficked bridge... It's not an everyday accident," he concludes.
High priority
After the landslide on the E6 at Stenungsund in September, the E45 became the alternative route that was referred for heavy traffic. After the accident, there is only one lane over the Stallbacka bridge open in the northbound direction. The risk of traffic jams will therefore be high.
"It's an incredibly important route even in normal circumstances, and linked to the traffic situation after the landslide on the E6, it's even more important. So it's a full priority to get this sorted out as soon as possible," says Jonas Nilsson, Head of Unit at the Swedish Transport Administration.