In times of war, a bridge can spell defeat or victory to belligerents.
The Kerch Bridge connecting Russia to Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, gave Russian forces the upper hand against Ukrainian troops leading to the annexation of more territories from its western neighbor last month.
The 18-kilometer rail and road bridge’s bombing last week came when Ukraine’s counter-offensive was gaining steam and its troops were retaking occupied areas from retreating Russians. The quick repair of the structure may swing the advantage back to the Russians.
A bridge can also spell disaster for countries that are not at war. In Antique, an overloaded quarry truck crossing the Buhang-Egaña steel bridge between Sibalom and Hamtic towns was too heavy causing it to collapse last month, according to the Philippine News Agency.
A traffic jam filled the bridge in Loay, Bohol with vehicles and the weight was too much to bear so it collapsed in April. Cars and a truck loaded with sand fell into the river killing four people, PNA reported.
Another bridge under construction in Marilog District, Davao City collapsed in February reportedly due to bad construction. The mishap injured two people, PNA reported.
The new Los Angeles River bridge that opened to motorists in July has been closed and reopened several times by police due to accidents. Crashes in the 6th Street Viaduct were blamed on car races and social media stunts done in the middle of the lanes, AP News reported.
Authorities in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo were luckier of what recently happened to a newly constructed bridge in the Mont-Ngafula district.
The video showing a ceremony inaugurating the footbridge early in September also went viral on social media. It was not surprising as many were amused to see dignitaries falling when the bridge broke up and collapsed into a stream as soon as they cut the ceremonial ribbon.
Onlookers at the accident site could not hide their glee seeing the officials struggle to get off the broken bridge with its central section slumped two meters below.