Police have stopped vehicles passing through a bridge in Southwest China's Sichuan province after cracks were found on the bridge pier, local media reported on Wednesday.

Since 7 pm on Tuesday, vehicles have been restricted from driving through the Changjiang Bridge in Luzhou city, according to a report in the West China Metropolis Daily. 

The city government sent messages to local residents' cell phones and released an urgent notice, asking people to avoid the bridge, the report said.

At around 11 pm, experts arrived in the city and started to study ways to deal with the cracks, the report added.