A ramp on the viaduct that connects the main body of Yangmingtan Bridge in Harbin collapsed on August 24, causing four trucks to plunge about 30 meters to the ground. [Xinhua ]

Last week in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, part of a bridge collapsed after only one year in service. The accident killed three and injured five.

Yet only nine months ago local newspapers hailed the bridge as an engineering "miracle," saying it was the longest bridge built in the shortest period of time, with a design life span of 100 years.

All people but drivers of overloaded trucks know what would happen to a bridge built employing a lax construction code.

It was reported that the time needed for the job was halved from 3 years to 18 months.

And investments averaged a whopping 100 million yuan (US$15.7 million) a month. Before it was completed, the speedy job was slammed by experts as a "mission impossible," yet smug officials overseeing the construction work ignored their warnings and pressed ahead nonetheless.

Local authorities now blame the collapse squarely on overloaded trucks. Netizens countered, saying the bridge tumbled because corners were cut.

In Harbin, more than 200 roads were hastily built or rebuilt last year. By mid-August there have been seven reported cases of crumbled roads that resulted in two fatalities and two injuries.

How could infrastructure projects that defy the laws of physics and experts' advice stay intact for 100 years?

Related

• Expert angered by bridge collapse reports
• Construction info on collapsed bridge released

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