A drezdai Carola híd összeomlása és a német hídállomány fenntartásának kihívásai

Germany is known worldwide for its highly developed transport infrastructure, in which highway bridges represent key links. The vast majority of these bridges are reinforced concrete structures, and a significant proportion of them are more than 50 years old, so the signs of ageing are posing increasing challenges for German bridge engineers. The paper outlines the strategy developed by experts to address the problem of hydrogen induced stress corrosion cracking. However, as the collapse of the Carola Bridge in Dresden shows, even these carefully developed specifications cannot take every possibility into account. To comprehend the chain of events, we will examine the causes that led to the collapse of the bridge, starting with a description of its history, structure, and construction. Finally, we will also discuss the combination of special circumstances that led to the disaster. A more precise understanding of the causes will certainly help us to prevent collapses of other similar bridges in the future.