Lovebirds sealing their everlasting love for one another by symbolically hanging up padlocks on bridges is a common phenomenon, as can be confirmed strolling across Tower Bridge in London, the Pont des Arts in Paris and even the Bryggebro Bridge here in Copenhagen.
But the heavy load of thousands of padlocks can be a problem for some bridges, and Copenhagen Municipality has put up ‘no padlock’ signs on the new bridges across Christianshavn Canal because they aren’t built to handle the heavy load of the padlocks of love.
“Last year, part of the railing collapsed on a bridge in Paris,” Peter Hammer de Jong, the department director for bridges in Copenhagen, told Avisen.dk.
“The reason was that people had hung up padlocks in numerous layers until the weight exceeded the railing’s maximum weight support capacity.”
“When Trangravsbroen and Proviantbroen were finished in Copenhagen, there were a few padlocks hung up on their railings, but because these bridges are drawbridges, the locks would shoot back and forth on the railing’s steel wires when the bridges open and close.”
READ MORE: Denmark’s big bridges getting an overhaul
A danger
De Jong said the padlocks could snap the steel wires over time, and the locks could also break off and fall onto people’s heads if they wear down.
According to de Jong, since the new signs have appeared, people haven’t hung up any padlocks.
