[M T]

The Kerch bridge is still pretty fucked up, even if Russia does have one lane of traffic and one of the railroad tracks operating. The rail track with the burned car still looks in pretty rough shape.

I'm beginning to think that the diesel tanker cars on the bridge were the #1 target of the truck bomb.  The burning diesel appears to have gotten down under the concrete ties (look at the very end of the video where there seems to be no gravel between the ties) and possibly compromised the span itself.  I'd have to think trains crossing that span on the undamaged track could cause the damaged concrete & rebar to fail.  There's the weight of the train and the vibrations of the movement shaking everything up.  Could a partial failure of the damaged half lead to structural failure of the whole span?

I suppose some sort of steel structure could be attached underneath to prevent this.  Basically a new steel span underneath, attached to the undamaged spans on either side of the damaged span(s).

A corollary to this is that striking diesel tanker cars on a bridge could be done with a lower strength weapon and could cause similar problems on any bridge.  A survey (in Crimea) of train tracks that bridge a river within RPG range of a roadway might reveal some vulnerable points.   

Some comments on the tweet wonder at how this video and others were leaked.  I would imagine that the Ukrainian cyber experts are behind it, stealing it from someone's phone, or from the company doing the inspection.  But, it could have been some worker posting a video he took of the damage on social media. (If so, he may find himself drafted this week.)  The (alleged) video of the inspection of the truck before the crossing could have been taken by those that remotely set off the explosion.  While the explosion could have been triggered from anywhere in the world, likely you'd want to know when was the right time.  I'd think they were following in a car.

[M T]

The Kerch bridge is still pretty fucked up, even if Russia does have one lane of traffic and one of the railroad tracks operating. The rail track with the burned car still looks in pretty rough shape.

I'm beginning to think that the diesel tanker cars on the bridge were the #1 target of the truck bomb.  The burning diesel appears to have gotten down under the concrete ties (look at the very end of the video where there seems to be no gravel between the ties) and possibly compromised the span itself.  I'd have to think trains crossing that span on the undamaged track could cause the damaged concrete & rebar to fail.  There's the weight of the train and the vibrations of the movement shaking everything up.  Could a partial failure of the damaged half lead to structural failure of the whole span?

I suppose some sort of steel structure could be attached underneath to prevent this.  Basically a new steel span underneath, attached to the undamaged spans on either side of the damaged span(s).

A corollary to this is that striking diesel tanker cars on a bridge could be done with a lower strength weapon and could cause similar problems on any bridge.  A survey (in Crimea) of train tracks that bridge a river within RPG range of a roadway might reveal some vulnerable points.   

Some comments on the tweet wonder at how this video and others were leaked.  I would imagine that the Ukrainian cyber experts are behind it, stealing it from someone's phone, or from the company doing the inspection.  But, it could have been some worker posting a video he took of the damage on social media. (If so, he may find himself drafted this week.)  The (alleged) video of the inspection of the truck before the crossing could have been taken by those that remotely set off the explosion.  While the explosion could have been triggered from anywhere in the world, likely you'd want to know when was the right time.  I'd think they were following in a car.