R1 Expressway in Banska Bystrica Closed Due to Damaged Bridge in City

Banska Bystrica, September 19 (TASR) - The crisis management team of the city of Banska Bystrica adopted on Thursday afternoon more radical measures in connection with the emergency condition of the bridge in the borough of Kremnicka over the R1 expressway, namely that the busy R1 expressway has been closed, city mayor Jan Nosko stated on Thursday. They also finally decided to demolish the bridge, which is the first one at the entrance to Banska Bystrica in the direction from Zvolen. Deputy director of the Regional Traffic Inspectorate in Banska Bystrica Vladimir Farkas stressed that Banska Bystrica has never had similar restrictions before, announcing that it will cause long queues and significant delays both for local drivers and those crossing Slovakia from the west to the east of the country. Banska Bystrica mayor Jan Nosko reported that the closure of the 50-year-old bridge to all traffic was necessitated by the results of a static assessment after a regular inspection of the bridge, which the city hall received on Wednesday (September 18). The bridge inspection found a number of serious defects in the structure. "This bridge has been assessed as class 7, which is a state of disrepair. The previous inspection stated a condition of 4-5, which means that there has been a sudden deterioration in the condition of this bridge, which may also be related to the rain and the waterlogged conditions. We immediately convened a working group this morning with the participation of the city's expert departments, representatives of the National Highway Company (NDS), the Slovak Road Administration (SSC) and the traffic police," stated Nosko, adding that in this context they declared an emergency situation and proceeded to an immediate measure, that is closing the bridge not only for cars, but also for cyclists and pedestrians. am/mcs