ARCHIVED - Work finally begins to remove cement mixer and fallen bridge from the River Segura
It is almost a month since the bridge collapsed under the weight of the cement mixer
Finally work has begun to remove a cement mixer and tons of rubble from a collapsed bridge in the bed of the River Segura, where they have been partially blocking the flow of the water since the lorry caused the bridge to implode on 29th March.
The iron bridge in question joined the district of El Raal, in the municipality of Murcia, and La Basca in Beniel and its use is not permitted by vehicles weighing over five tons, but at the time of the incident the signs indicating these limits were "obscured by the branches of a tree". The local driver of the cement mixer was forced to seek an alternative route when the main road was closed to traffic, and unfortunately this was the road he chose, although it is claimed that he knew full well that his 40 ton vehicle would exceed the five ton weight limitations of the bridge.
As a result the bridge simply collapsed and the driver was lucky to escape with only multiple minor injuries.
But the rubble is just 1,700 metres upstream from the municipality of Orihuela and even closer to Beniel, raising concerns that if heavy rain causes the river to swell it could be washed into the built-up areas of another municipality or cause a mjor blockage which could flood nearby areas.
The demand of the CHS this week has simply been that the two council authorities concerned speak to each other and decide how to remove the cement mixer and the rubble as soon as possible before drawing up plans for a new bridge. But the work is further complicated by the fact that in order for it to go ahead the CHS has to allow part of the river to dry out and then supply water for irrigation in nearby fields by alternative means, namely the infrastructures for distributing water which arrives in the Segura basin from the Tajo—Segura supply canal.
In principle, the Mayor of Murcia and the Mayoress of Beniel are in agreement that a new bridge will be built within three months of the collapse of the old one, but almost a month has passed and no action has yet been taken even to remove the evidence of the collapse.
Murcia town hall claims that this is a complicated project and that work has begun to resolve the many issues created by it, however, has bowed to the insistence of the CHS that the lorry and remains of the bridge are at least removed from the site, a proces which will begin on Thursday (April 22) on the same day as the region is on yellow alert for storms and heavy rains.