(Wine-Searcher) - A planned bridge that will damage some of the greatest vineyards in the Mosel region hits another snag as more safety issues arise.

Europe's largest bridge project – which could devastate some of Germany’s greatest vineyards – is again under the microscope, as doubts about the stability of the Hochmoselbrücke project pile up.

The massive bridge, which would span the Mosel between Ürzig and Zeltingen-Rachtig, has already drawn protests from grapegrowers, winemakers and wine lovers, and now there is growing anxiety among engineers about the safety of the project.

A renowned geotechnical engineer, Rafig Azzam, the head of geotechnical and hydrological engineering at Aachen University, has raised fears about a "danger to human life".

He told German newspaper Der Spiegel that the stability of the bridge, which is currently under construction, had not been proven, and the huge piers (pillars) of the 158-meter (520-feet) high bridge had not been not adequately secured to the "unstable slope" in the Ürzig area.

Anti-bridge campaigner Jancis Robinson pointed out on her website in January that the pillar that will support the bridge on the Ürzig side of the river would go down some 47m, despite the bedrock level beginning at 70m deep.

In its current form, says Azzam, a bridge there is "irresponsible". Azzam, who has worked as a reviewer for the prosecution in court proceedings following the collapse of the Cologne city archive building, which killed two people in 2009, criticized the studies presented by the road authorities about the bridge. Many safety considerations had been overlooked, he said, and the impact of underground water flows had also been downplayed.

In September, geologist Jean-Frank Wagner of the University of Trier had already pointed out a danger of slippage around the support piers and requested additional stability measures.