More than 8,100 trucks and coaches drove over the weakened Merwedebrug near Sleeuwijk despite a ban, Rijkswaterstaat reported. From the weekend through Wednesday, 8,141 such vehicles crossed the structure on the A27 highway. About 80 percent carried foreign license plates and could not yet be fined through the camera system that Rijkswaterstaat installed Saturday and Sunday because of regulations.

In the same period, Rijkswaterstaat forwarded 567 police reports to the Central Judicial Collection Agency. The agency told Omroep Brabant Thursday that it had issued 96 fines, all to vehicles with Dutch plates. Each fine is 500 euros.

Rijkswaterstaat closed the bridge to truck traffic on July 18 after research found the steel arch construction is less strong than previously believed.

To reduce the load, trucks and other vehicles heavier than 3.5 tons are prohibited from crossing. Enforcement with cameras that record violators began a week later, on Saturday.

The 96 fines went only to Dutch-registered vehicles. Most foreign trucks cannot yet be fined through the cameras because the violation falls outside European agreements on license-plate data exchange. Starting September 1, that will change for trucks from Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland under separate agreements with those countries. Foreign drivers can already receive a fine if stopped by police or other enforcement officers.

The Merwedebrug is a key link between Noord-Brabant and the Randstad region. Ten years ago the bridge was temporarily closed to truck traffic because of structural problems.

Rijkswaterstaat is reportedly developing new bridges that will eventually replace the current Merwedebrug.