In the case of the fallen noise barrier on the A3 near Cologne, 15 suspects are being investigated. According to the public prosecutor’s office on Friday, there are seven employees of the state road construction company in North Rhine-Westphalia, two test engineers and six employees of construction companies. The wall fell in November 2020. A driver was killed in her car by the suddenly falling part of the protective wall.
According to the findings of the Ministry of Transport of North Rhine-Westphalia, omissions in the state operation were at least “contributory” to the fatal accident, it said shortly after the incident. A faulty anchoring of the concrete slab in the noise protection construction was quickly identified as the cause. Apparently, this had already been noticed in July 2008, four weeks before the slab was installed, and the construction company was asked whether they could still prove the safe statics.
The concrete slabs were then installed without an answer, there was no inspection by third parties, and the company filed for bankruptcy in 2013. In the years to come, there were further errors: The state company did not carry out the main tests on the affected retaining walls in accordance with the rules, the ministry wrote. The case could also have criminal consequences.