Reports point to design flaw in Colombian bridge collapse

Preliminary reports on the collapse of a suspension bridge on Colombia's Bogotá-Villavicencio highway point to an apparent design flaw in one of the cross beams of the structure.

The first study, done by the project's auditor Consorcio Interconcesiones with Mexican firm Mexpresa, recommended demolishing the section of the 459m structure that remained after the accident on January 15 that killed nine workers, the transport ministry said via its Twitter account.

Minister Germán Cardona said that concessionaire Coviandes was responsible for the design of the bridge and it must decide if it will demolish the rest of the bridge or repair the structure.

"This concessionaire had the obligation to deliver the bridge by June, so the respective sanctions will be applied, and in case the structure is rebuilt, no resources from the nation will be allocated to it," Cardona said via his office's Twitter account.

The ministry also decided to close the road in order to prevent further accidents.

Meanwhile, Coviandes announced that it will carry out an investigation of its own into accident, and that it has hired US firm Modjeski and Masters to do the studies, daily Portafolio reported.

Work on the highway between capital Bogotá and the city of Villavicencio entails widening and maintaining a 45.5km stretch between El Tablón and Chirajara, including four tunnels and 15 viaducts and bridges. Investment in the stretch is put at 2tn pesos (US$700mn). The work is part of the government's 4G highways program.