Project has no start date yet
13 years ago, in August 2011, many people eagerly came to see the Hanoi Capital Construction Master Plan Exhibition. Models, models, panels... showed detailed master plans, sketching the city's perspective until 2030 with a vision to 2050.
The exhibition was held after the Hanoi Capital Construction Master Plan was announced a few days earlier.
A more spacious and majestic Hanoi is clearly shown in this event. And from here, many people begin to imagine a new bridge that will soon be built, called Tu Lien Bridge, connecting Tay Ho district with Dong Anh district.
In March 2016, the Prime Minister approved the Hanoi Capital Transport Planning to 2030, with a vision to 2050. Tu Lien Bridge is oriented to be one of 18 road projects crossing the Red River in the Hanoi area.
Then, in August 2016, the Hanoi People's Council officially passed the Resolution on the 5-year socio-economic development plan for the period 2016 - 2020.
To implement this plan, Hanoi prioritizes investment in the transport infrastructure system to serve urban development. This includes the construction of large bridges such as Tu Lien bridge and Tran Hung Dao bridge (underpass) across the Red River.
More than a year later, in September 2017, Tu Lien Bridge was one of six bridges proposed by Hanoi City to the Government for a special construction mechanism.
In June 2020, the Hanoi People's Committee announced the architectural plan for the construction of Tu Lien Bridge. Accordingly, Tu Lien Bridge is located between Nhat Tan and Long Bien Bridges, connecting Tay Ho District with Dong Anh District, directly connecting the main axis of urban areas planned along Huu Hong Dike with the extended National Highway 5.
The bridge is designed as a cable-stayed bridge, combining torsion beams, creating large spans with a light steel structural frame system, two main bridge piers are shaped.
For many years after that, in May 2024, the Hanoi People's Committee issued Plan No. 143/KH-UBND directing units to promote the implementation of the 5-year medium-term public investment plan 2021-2025, speed up project implementation progress, disburse public investment plans for 2024, 2025 and key projects of the city.
Notably, Tu Lien bridge and the road from Tu Lien bridge to Hanoi - Thai Nguyen expressway are identified as key projects for 2021 - 2025.
However, after nearly a decade, since 2016 when it was included in the Hanoi Capital Transport Planning, there is still no specific information about when the Tu Lien Bridge will start construction.
According to experts, projects such as Tu Lien Bridge and Tran Hung Dao Bridge are extremely necessary and urgent, in the context of the increasingly overloaded Red River overpass system, putting increasing pressure on urban infrastructure.
Slow construction will hinder development
An issue that is of particular concern to the public at present is how Hanoi will choose the investment method for the Tu Lien and Tran Hung Dao bridge projects, when there is a lot of information about these bridge projects being transferred from the PPP (public-private partnership) method to public investment.
Speaking with reporters from Lao Dong Newspaper, National Assembly Delegate, Dr. Nguyen Thi Viet Nga - Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Hai Duong Province - said that she herself has witnessed the current traffic jams in the Vinh Tuy Bridge area many times.
Giving her opinion on the construction of new bridges across the Red River, Ms. Nga said: "Traffic must have synchronous connections to be effective. We must have synchronous infrastructure, not only building bridges but also reviewing the entire road system to connect with more reasonable bridges."
Sharing about the delay in the implementation of bridge construction projects for a long time, the National Assembly Delegate said that there are many reasons, which may be related to capital allocation, site clearance, or the procedures of public investment projects are quite strict and time-consuming.
Meanwhile, Dr. Phan Le Binh (Chief Representative of OCG Consulting Office, Japan - a global consulting unit in the field of construction, feasibility studies, and transport project management) emphasized that the new bridges across the Red River will help areas such as Dong Anh and Gia Lam have strong development momentum, while at the same time having better connections with the existing urban areas of Hanoi.
"Other bridges are still in the planning, such as Tu Lien and Tran Hung Dao bridges, which means Hanoi wants to build them. However, the delay in construction will also lead to areas with development potential being held back. As for areas that have already developed, it will create huge traffic pressure on existing bridges," said Dr. Phan Le Binh.
Regarding this issue, Lao Dong Newspaper has reflected in the article series: "Red River overpass buckles under overload" reflecting the current situation of the Red River overpass system in Hanoi's inner city area currently having to withstand traffic volume many times greater than the original design.
The record also shows that the desire of the capital's people is to build new bridges, both to reduce traffic pressure and increase regional connectivity, promoting local socio-economic development.
