Long queues when Mälarbron got stuck - hears municipal employee criticism - "Embarrassing"

For over an hour, traffic was at a standstill in central Södertälje when the Mälar Bridge got stuck.

The problem, which is due to the bridge swelling in the heat, has been around for several summers.

One way to do this is to cool down the bridge with water, but it is resource-intensive work that requires staff on site.

And despite the fact that Södertälje municipality has long said that they want to streamline work, it is still done manually.

Since Thursday afternoon, Tommy Gustafsson at the municipality has alternated between watering with a hose and driving a spraying tanker over the bridge - which then blocks a lane.

SVT has sought a responsible manager for a comment but he was not available until Monday.

Hear Tommy Gustafsson's criticism that the system is not automated, in the clip above.