Bridge cracked, trucks passing through vibrated violently
In April 2024, the management unit of the Ho Chi Minh Highway West Branch, Road Management Area II, discovered horizontal and vertical cracks at span number 4 of Dakrong Bridge (Dakrong District, Quang Tri Province).
In addition, the asphalt concrete coating on the bridge deck on span 2 has many cracks running horizontally across the bridge and a crack extending from the lower left lane to the right lane with a width of 0.1-0.3mm. When heavy trucks pass through the bridge, the bridge span structure vibrates strongly; the outermost cable-stayed cable to the south on span 3 has a visible elongation when a heavy truck passes by, causing the connection of a cable-stayed cable protection tube at span 3 on the left of the route to come loose.
Dakrong suspension bridge at Km249+824 Ho Chi Minh road, West branch, Quang Tri province, is designed with steel and reinforced concrete, put into operation in 2002. Currently, the bridge has installed a sign limiting the bridge's load for 30-ton semi-trailers and 32-ton trailers.
According to the People's Committee of Quang Tri province, the limited load capacity of Dakrong suspension bridge has caused many difficulties for transportation activities, increasing transportation costs. In addition, due to the high traffic volume, the bridge is currently damaged, posing a risk of traffic safety; the road management unit is organizing guard duty and arranging barriers to regulate vehicles crossing the bridge.
Mr. Le Duc Tien - Vice Chairman of Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee - said that the locality has requested the Vietnam Road Administration to direct the organization of vehicle load inspection at the section passing Dakrong Bridge to ensure the safety of the project and traffic safety and order on the route. At the same time, it is necessary to promptly inspect and verify to determine the cause and have solutions to ensure the project's safety.
Currently, forces must arrange people to regulate trucks crossing the bridge to keep distance, crossing the bridge one by one at a maximum speed of 5km/h.
Proposal to build new bridge
Faced with the deterioration of Dakrong Bridge, the Vietnam Road Administration has directed Road Management Area II to coordinate with experts and relevant agencies to assess the damage, research and propose solutions to repair and reinforce the bridge.
According to the Vietnam Road Administration, this unit has sent a written report to the Ministry of Transport and it is expected that the damage to the bridge will be periodically repaired in the 2025 road maintenance plan, and if necessary, emergency repairs will be carried out in 2024.
It is known that in recent years, La Lay International Border Gate has been the place to import a large amount of coal from coal mines in the two provinces of Sekong and Salavan (Laos). It is estimated that the coal in these two provinces is about 1 billion tons, the demand for transportation from Laos to Vietnam for export through seaports is estimated at about 20-30 million tons/year, so it is forecasted that the number of vehicles traveling on the Ho Chi Minh Road West branch, passing through Dakrong suspension bridge will increase.
"Therefore, Quang Tri province proposed to build a new Dakrong bridge, with a construction cost of about 60 billion VND" - Mr. Le Duc Tien added.
Regarding this proposal, the Vietnam Road Administration stated that, in the long term, Dakrong Bridge, with its cable-stayed suspension structure, has been in operation for more than 20 years with a design load of H18-X60. To serve the socio-economic development of the locality and region, and at the same time meet the increasing transportation demand, it is necessary to study and invest in building a new bridge. The Vietnam Road Administration also requested the Ministry of Transport to consider and assign this unit to prepare a report proposing the investment policy for the new Dakrong Bridge according to the recommendation of the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee.
