Shafaq News- Diyala

The Hamrin Lake Bridge in northeastern Diyala was shut to all traffic after landslides damaged its approach roads, a source told Shafaq News on Monday.

Vehicles, including cars and trucks, have been barred from using the country’s longest bridge, with traffic redirected to the Imam Wais road. The diversion has slowed movement between Baqubah and Khanaqin, forcing a major detour that adds more than an hour to key travel routes in the Kurdistan Region.

Heavy rainfall recently raised water levels in Lake Hamrin, triggering structural collapse near the bridge and prompting authorities to close the crossing over safety concerns for motorists.

Stretching more than seven kilometers, the project has already cost more than 60 billion Iraqi dinars ($39.06 million). Local authorities opened the new crossing to traffic more than a month ago, before construction was fully completed, after waves from the lake damaged the old bridge.