Major Chinese bridge collapses into river just months after opening to traffic

A massive bridge at a hydropower station in southwest China collapsed Tuesday, sending concrete and steel plunging into a river just months after it opened, according to Chinese state media.

Reuters reported that an official from Barkam County confirmed the collapse to the Chinese state-run Global Times, saying no casualties had been reported.

The report added that cracks were detected a day earlier on the bridge’s road surface and slope, prompting authorities to impose temporary traffic controls.

Footage of the collapse, shared widely on Chinese social media, showed the Hongqi Bridge in Sichuan Province buckling before falling into the river below, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

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The incident occurred around 3 p.m. local time near the G317 national highway, according to China Central Television (CCTV) News.

Local transportation and public security bureaus said the right-bank slope of the bridge showed signs of deformation Monday afternoon, just hours before the collapse.

Authorities quickly shut down the structure to all traffic and issued a public notice warning of potential safety risks.

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According to Times Now, the Hongqi Bridge was located in Sichuan Province’s mountainous Maerkang area and completed earlier this year as part of the G317 national highway—an important route connecting central China to Tibet.

The 758-meter-long, cantilevered two-lane beam bridge stood roughly 625 meters above the gorge floor, with piers reaching up to 172 meters in height. It was built by the state-backed Sichuan Road & Bridge Group as part of efforts to expand access to the Tibetan Plateau.

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The bridge’s construction was part of a broader government push to improve connectivity and spur economic growth across western China’s rugged terrain, Times Now reported.

It was intended to serve as a symbol of the country’s infrastructure ambitions but had only reopened to traffic a few months before the collapse—marking a short-lived chapter for what was meant to showcase China’s engineering progress.

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State-run outlets have not yet identified the cause of the collapse, though early assessments suggest geological instability may have played a role. No vehicles or pedestrians were on the bridge at the time, officials said, and investigations are underway.

Reuters contributed to this report.