On the morning of May 21, near the Apengjiang toll station on the Yuxiang section of the G65 Baotou-Maoming Expressway in Qianjiang District, Chongqing, a pier of an expressway viaduct was struck and damaged by rocks rolling down from a mountain. The reporter learned that traffic control has been implemented on the road section near the damaged pier, and the road maintenance department is studying a repair plan for the damaged pier.

The damaged pier struck by falling rocks (screenshot from an online video)

On May 21, a netizen posted a video saying that on the morning of that day, near the Apengjiang toll station on the Yuxiang section of the G65 Baotou-Maoming Expressway, an expressway pier was hit by rocks and was seriously damaged, and passing vehicles needed to detour around the section. The video showed that the middle of the pier was seriously damaged, with some concrete falling off and rebar exposed. On the nearby hillside, there were traces suspected of rocks rolling down.

The netizen told the reporter that on the morning of the 21st, when he was driving and preparing to travel via the Yuxiang section of the G65 Baotou-Maoming Expressway, he found that traffic control had already been implemented on the section, so he had to switch to National Highway 319. At around 10 a.m. that day, when he passed near the Apengjiang toll station on the Yuxiang section of the G65 Baotou-Maoming Expressway on the national highway, he saw that an expressway pier was seriously damaged and heard that it had been struck by rocks rolling down from the mountain.

A staff member of the Management and Maintenance Division of the Chongqing Municipal Transport Commission told the reporter that on the morning of the 21st, a pier of an expressway near the Apengjiang toll station on the Yuxiang section of the G65 Baotou-Maoming Expressway was struck and damaged by falling rocks from a mountain, and traffic control had been implemented on the nearby section because of this. Staff members rushed to the scene as soon as possible to inspect the situation, and a repair plan is currently being studied.