Colombia demolishes bridge after deadly incident

Colombian highway concessionaire Coviandes demolished the remains of the Chirajara bridge, part of the Bogotá-Villavicencio concession, six months after the partial collapse of the structure killed nine workers, local media outlets reported.

Following the incident, both the authorities and the project's auditor recommended demolishing the section of the 459m structure that remained standing. Both argued that the collapse was due to design flaws in the pier towers that also affected the remaining structure.

Prior to the demolition, Coviandes stated in a press release that the demolition demanded 200kg of explosives and was handled by Demoliciones Atila Implosión, which is owned by the concessionaire.

The overall concession, which is part of the 4G highways program, involves an investment of 2tn pesos (US$694mn) and entails widening and maintaining a 45.5km stretch between capital Bogotá and the city of Villavicencio.