Terrified to cross a degraded bridge
Do Moc bridge spans the Thoa River, located on DH. 42C road, built in 1984. This is an important traffic route connecting National Highway 1, DT. 627B, Duc Pho ward, Lan Phong commune with My A port area; and is also the main transportation route for goods and seafood of people in the region.
After more than 40 years of operation, the bridge no longer meets current development requirements. With a length of about 156m, but the bridge deck is only 4.5m wide, and there is no protective railing, so traffic through the bridge is difficult, especially when vehicles avoid each other.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang, a resident who regularly crosses Do Moc bridge, said: "The bridge is narrow, heavily degraded and has no railings, so everyone passing by is worried. We people just hope to have a new bridge soon to travel more safely.
What worries people even more is that Do Moc bridge is currently a spillway bridge, so it is often deeply flooded in the rainy and flood season. At times, the water rises from 1 - 1.6m, causing traffic to be completely cut off.
Sharing the same worry, people in Lan Phong commune have been anxious for many years when crossing Van Ha 1 bridge on the Gieng Tien - Bien Thach Thang route.
Built in 2000, Van Ha 1 bridge is nearly 200m long, spanning the Thoa River. After more than two decades of operation, the project has suffered many damages. The bridge deck has cracks at the vertical connections, causing strong shaking when vehicles travel.
Many positions in the abutment body, pillars and bridge beams have the protective concrete layer peeling off, revealing corroded steel reinforcement; some foundations in the middle of the river are seriously eroded.
Every time a truck passes by, the bridge shakes violently. Looking at the peeling concrete and exposed steel, everyone feels uneasy," shared Mr. Tran Tan Thanh, in Lan Phong commune.
Faced with the risk of unsafety, the locality has put up signs limiting the load capacity to 5 tons. However, this is only a temporary solution. The transportation of construction materials, agricultural products and goods between the two sides of the bridge faces many obstacles, increasing production costs.
Waiting for capital to replace weak bridges
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuong - Vice Chairman of Lan Phong Commune People's Committee said that Van Ha 1 bridge has been included in the list of weak bridges for many years but has not yet been replaced. Meanwhile, the demand for traffic and transportation of goods through this area is increasing. Therefore, the locality really hopes that the Provincial People's Committee will soon pay attention to allocating capital to invest in building a new bridge.
This is an extremely urgent need, not only to ensure traffic safety for people but also to contribute to removing infrastructure bottlenecks, creating favorable conditions for socio-economic development of the locality in the coming time," Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuong proposed.
Regarding Do Moc bridge, according to the reporter's investigation, the Provincial Civil and Industrial Construction Investment Project Management Board has submitted to the Provincial People's Committee a report proposing investment policies for the Do Moc bridge and access road project. The project has a total estimated investment of 140 billion VND from the provincial budget, implemented in the period 2027 - 2029.
According to the proposal, a new bridge will be built to replace the existing overflow bridge, combining a system of approach roads at both ends of the bridge to ensure smooth traffic connection between the two banks of the Thoa River.
Mr. Vo Minh Chau - Chairman of Tra Cau Ward People's Committee said that the investment in building a new Do Moc bridge is extremely necessary, contributing to meeting current and future transportation needs, creating development momentum for the locality and neighboring areas.
