Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — On 13 May around 20:00, a span of the Korabogsoy Bridge collapsed at the 85th kilometer of the A-373 highway. The incident involved the failure of a pedestrian section, specifically one of the bridge’s beams, measuring 22.1 meters in length.

In response to the incident, traffic was temporarily suspended and rerouted via the D-019 highway as an alternative route.

Following the collapse, a rapid technical assessment was conducted by the Bridge and Civil Structures Diagnostics Department of the UzYulKuprik production cluster under the State Committee for Roads. The findings revealed a number of critical structural deficiencies:

Severely deteriorated beams no longer capable of bearing current loads;

Excessive thickness of the upper pavement layer, adding significant weight and stress on the supporting structure;

Beams acting independently rather than as a cohesive unit, compromising overall structural integrity;

Water infiltration through cracks in the pavement and road edges, leading to corrosion of the beams and degradation of reinforcement components.

Based on these findings, the technical condition of the bridge has been classified as unsatisfactory.

“To prevent potentially dangerous situations in the future, a full-scale reconstruction of the bridge is urgently required. Since this section of the highway is classified as Category I and the current bridge design does not meet its requirements, traffic congestion is a recurring issue,” the expert report states.

The specialists recommend constructing a new bridge that aligns with modern road standards A 14 and NK 100, ensuring both safety and compatibility with projected traffic loads.