The Mystery of the 14 Million Bridge Collapse: How was it built without a single strand of steel at the fracture?

In February this year, a shocking incident occurred in Butou Town, Babu District, Hezhou City, Guangxi - the sudden collapse of Butou Bridge. Even more incredible is that there was no weight on the bridge at the time of the accident

In February this year, a shocking incident occurred in Butou Town, Babu District, Hezhou City, Guangxi - the sudden collapse of Butou Bridge. Even more incredible is that there was no weight on the bridge at the time of the accident.

Butou Bridge is a reinforced concrete arch bridge, with a total length of 130 meters and a width of 8 meters. It was built in 2015 and cost 14 million yuan. Normally, such a bridge should have sufficient bearing capacity and durability, but it collapsed within less than 8 years of use.

On site videos and photos show that the front and side walls of the bridge partially collapsed, the first span bridge as a whole collapsed, and other bridge structures were also damaged to varying degrees. This unsettling scene makes people wonder why this bridge suddenly collapsed without people or heavy objects.

Netizens have speculated on the cause of the accident. Some people believe that this may be because an overweight truck passed by this bridge before, causing damage to the bridge. Some people also say that this is a hidden danger buried in bridge construction, with insufficient construction quality and safety hazards inherent in the bridge itself. Some netizens also speculate that this may be caused by drainage issues.

In order to identify the cause of the accident, the local government has established a dedicated investigation team and invited professional technical personnel to conduct a survey on the site. After preliminary analysis, the investigation team ruled out the possibility of external factors such as overloading and flooding, and focused on the structure and materials of the bridge itself.

The investigation team found that there was no trace of steel reinforcement at the fracture site. Steel bars are one of the most important load-bearing materials in concrete structures, which can enhance the tensile, compressive, flexural, and shear properties of concrete, as well as improve its toughness and ductility. Concrete without steel bars is as weak as a body without bones.

The investigation team also found that a large amount of impurities such as sand and soil were mixed in the concrete at the fracture site, resulting in low strength, uneven density, high porosity, and strong permeability of the concrete. These will affect the durability and stability of concrete, and accelerate its aging and cracking.

The investigation team conducted a comparative analysis based on the on-site situation and construction data, and reached an astonishing conclusion: there was a serious phenomenon of cutting corners and materials during the construction process of Butou Bridge. In order to save costs and time, the construction party added inferior materials to the concrete and reduced the amount of steel bars, even without the use of steel bars in certain parts. Such project quality is simply a Tofu-dreg project.

The collapse of Butou Bridge is not an exception. In recent years, similar bridge collapse accidents have occurred in many parts of China, including newly built or just repaired bridges. These accidents not only caused casualties and property losses, but also exposed some problems and hidden dangers in bridge construction in China.

For example, on August 14, 2018, a highway bridge in Genoa, Italy suddenly collapsed, resulting in 43 deaths and hundreds of injuries. This bridge was built in 1967 and was considered a modern engineering masterpiece at the time. However, before the accident, multiple cracks and rust had already appeared on this bridge, and it had not been repaired and reinforced in a timely manner. The investigation after the accident showed that there were serious defects and errors in the design, construction, and management of this bridge.

From these accidents, we can see that bridge collapse is not an accidental event, but a result of long-term accumulation. Whether it is design, construction, or maintenance management, it is necessary to follow the principles of science, standardization, and rigor, without any carelessness or carelessness. Otherwise, it will pose a huge threat to the safety of people's lives and property.

The collapse of Butou Bridge has attracted widespread attention and strong condemnation from all sectors of society. Many netizens left messages expressing their anger and incomprehension: How can such a Tofu-dreg project pass the acceptance? How can such construction and supervision parties evade responsibility? How can such a government department let it go?

In order to respond to public opinion and safeguard public interests, the local government has quickly taken a series of measures: firstly, conduct a thorough investigation of the cause of the accident and hold the relevant responsible persons criminally responsible in accordance with the law; Secondly, conduct a comprehensive inspection and renovation of all bridges in the city, and strengthen daily supervision and maintenance; The third is to resettle and compensate the affected people, and restore normal traffic order as soon as possible.

The collapse of Butou Bridge has sounded an alarm for us and also made us deeply aware of the problems and hidden dangers in bridge construction. We must learn from it, strengthen the quality and safety management of various links such as planning, design, construction, supervision, acceptance, and maintenance of bridge construction, eliminate illegal and irregular behaviors such as cutting corners, falsification, and dereliction of duty, and ensure the structural integrity, normal function, and long service life of the bridge.

We also need to draw inspiration from it, improve the technological level and innovation ability of bridge construction, use advanced materials, technologies, methods and concepts, create more beautiful, practical, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly bridge projects, meet the travel needs of the people, and showcase China's infrastructure strength and cultural charm.

The collapse of Butou Bridge was a painful lesson and a rare opportunity. We should take this opportunity to carry out special rectification actions for bridge safety, comprehensively improve the quality and level of bridge construction, and make greater contributions to the development of China's transportation industry and the happy life of the people.

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