Brucollapse, Sjoa | Arild Magne (69) fell eight meters when the wooden bridge collapsed in 2016: – The feelings came back today

On Monday, a glulam bridge collapsed at the E6 in Øyer municipality in Gudbrandsdalen. One car and one truck ended up in the river that runs below. The drivers of the lorry and car have been accounted for and are safe.

Just six years ago, a similar glulam bridge collapsed in Norway – also the one in Gudbrandsdalen.

When the glulam bridge – which crossed the E6 at Sjoa in Gudbrandsdalen – collapsed in 2016, Arild Magne Båtberget was behind the wheel of his timber truck. The timber truck was in the middle of the bridge when it gave way. As a result, he and the several-tonne timber truck fell eight meters before hitting the road below.

– I was sure I was going to be beaten to death, says the 69-year-old lorry driver.

The emotions flooded back

Båtberget tells Nettavisen that he remembers getting out of the timber truck by his own machine, but that he was in shock. He believes that the adrenalin pump was going full blast was decisive for him getting out at all, because he had suffered three fractures in his back.

– I am still struggling with my back after the accident. It is not good and will probably never be completely good again, he says.

He says that he subsequently received good follow-up and has put the accident behind him.

– I didn’t let the accident scare me afterwards, but the feelings came back today when I heard about the accident.

The glulam bridge over the E6 at Sjoa – which collapsed under Båtberget’s timber truck in 2016 – is only a scant eight miles away from the glulam bridge that collapsed on Monday.

– Can never feel completely safe

– What did you think when you heard that Tretten bru had collapsed?

– When you look at the pictures, it’s absolutely horrible. The bridge has broken across. I think with horror of all my colleagues who have to cross such bridges. One can never feel completely safe. It is clear that a lot can happen in traffic, but a bridge should not fall like this, says the professional driver.

Båtberget is not at pains to get inside the head of the driver who was in the truck that took Tretten Bru down on Monday morning.

– I would think he probably got a shock and might struggle a bit. But, it went well with me and I got good help afterwards, he says and fully praises the Norwegian Truck Owners’ Association for the help he got after the accident in 2016.

He says that even after the accident today, he was contacted by them asking if everything was alright.

Have driven over the accident bridge many times

Båtberget has been an active professional driver for over 48 years. He says that he has driven a lot of long-distance transport in the past, but that in recent years he has driven a lot in Gudbrandsdalen.

– I know the roads up there well and I have driven over the Tretten bridge many times. I have also met other trucks on the bridge, but I have never had the feeling that what happened today could happen.

Nevertheless, Båtberget can never quite put aside the thought he always has in the back of his mind out on the road – and when he travels over bridges:

– I don’t sit and be afraid, but you think about it every time: Is this going to be okay? Can the bridge actually withstand this here? I find it terrifying, he says.

Criticism after the previous glulam bridge accident

Following the collapse of the glulam bridge in Sjoa (Perkola bridge) in 2016, an investigation was launched – which led to criticism from the Directorate of Roads.

– The direct cause of the bridge collapse is a defective joint in the framework. An error in the design documentation has led to under-dimensioning of the joint (…) The error was not discovered during the bystander inspection by the designer, nor during the Road Directorate’s independent inspection. The serious thing is that the error was not uncovered in any part of the control chain, and here the Directorate of Roads acknowledges that it has not done a good enough job. The incident thus reveals a system failure linked to the control of the bridge design, the report after the accident states.

The bridges examined were:

• Moumbekken bridge in old Østfold
• Bliksland bridge in old Østfold, which was built in 2017
• Fjell-Leet bridge on the E6 in Akershus
• Sundbyveien, just south of Årungen in Ås municipality in Viken.
• Blakkisrud over the E6 in Viken
• Statsrådveien over the E6 at Eidsvoll in Viken
• Exit at E6 in Akershus
• Evenstad bridge in Koppang in Inlandet
• New Flisa bridge over Glomma at Flisa in Innlandet
• Skubbergsenga bridge over highway 2 in Eidskog
• Norsenga bridge that was built in 2016
• Thirteen bridges, which have now collapsed

Recommended reinforcement of Tretten bru

After the incident at the Perkolo bridge, as well as the discovery of a design error on the Sundbyveien bridge in Akershus, all wooden truss bridges were quality assured in 2016.

– It is recommended to consider strengthening certain junctions, initially at Blakkisrud bridge and Tretten bridge, the report from 2016 states, among other things.

The inspection of the wooden bridges in 2016 found no weaknesses in wood as a material used in bridges, but rule changes were recommended to further specify the type of wood material used in such constructions.