Traffic officials swear this bridge will not collapse. (Photo: Johan Fredriksson/CC BY-SA 3.0)

There are a few words and phrases that official agencies should probably never use when talking about a massive bridge, as the Swedish city of Södertälje is quickly discovering after releasing a statement that one of their major spans was in danger of caving in.

Recently, smack in the middle of the Sweden’s Midsummer festivities, a large truck lost control on the bridge and smashed into one of the bridge’s support beams bending it out of true. This happened in the midst of one of the area’s busiest times of the year, causing traffic lines to back up for miles. Since the truck damaged a key piece of the bridge’s structure, the entire span had to be closed down while authorities assessed repairs.

This all was standard procedure until as Business Insider reports the traffic administration told the media that, “the whole bridge is askew and could cave in,” which is when people got more than a little worried.

The bridge will have to remain closed for weeks, if not months, while the damage is assessed and repaired, but in the meantime, Södertälje officials are now trying to settle everyone down.

They have even released an official statement specifically letting everyone know that the bridge is no danger of collapsing, a bridge which they had recently said was in danger of collapsing.

And while the span is being repaired, another nearby bridge is handling the overflow traffic. But even when the damaged bridge does reopen, who will be brave enough to drive across it?