Long Bien Bridge (Hanoi) is entering a 2-month period of unexpected repairs. All vehicles are temporarily suspended from traffic to serve major repairs such as: scraping the old bridge deck, treating the foundation structure, new asphalt paving, repairing railings, bridge railings and drainage ditches on the road section.
Long Bien Bridge spans the Red River, connecting Hoan Kiem and Long Bien wards, and is more than 120 years old since it was opened to traffic in 1902. The project has a total length of nearly 2,300m, including 19 main steel spans and access sections, designed in a dome architecture with large nails, bearing European technical characteristics of the late 19th century. For the people, the bridge is not only an important traffic route but also one of the symbolic historical relics of the Capital.
On March 26, the Hanoi Department of Construction announced the temporary traffic organization adjustment on Long Bien Bridge to serve the construction of the project of emergency repair of roads, motorbike roads and rudimentary vehicles. Accordingly, from 9:00 am on March 28 to the end of May 27, motorbikes and pedestrians are prohibited from circulating on the road and motorbike roads in both directions.
Records of Lao Dong Newspaper reporters show that the Long Bien bridge deck has been scraped and the old structure layer has been re-treated; workers are processing steel reinforcement, installing steel mesh for the bridge deck, preparing to pour concrete and asphalt on the road section. At the construction site, the construction progress is being accelerated to ensure the set plan.
Talking to reporters, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phuong - Deputy Director of Ha Hai Railway Joint Stock Company (the management and direct construction unit) said that up to now, the project has completed the dismantling of the old bridge deck.
According to Mr. Phuong, the unit organizes 4 main construction teams, each team is divided into small groups. The items are deployed simultaneously to ensure the progress registered with Hanoi City, striving to complete on May 27. In the hot weather conditions at the beginning of the season, the unit proactively arranges early construction, late breaks, and limits working at noon to ensure workers' health.
Currently, the unit is constructing drainage ditches and preparing to pour concrete on the bridge deck. The drainage ditch item is about to be completed, the bridge railing has reached about 90% of the volume. The maintenance and repair process basically does not encounter many difficulties. However, due to the narrow bridge deck and limited volume at both ends of the bridge, the transportation of materials and supplies is difficult because the bridge is weak, so it is necessary to choose suitable vehicles, which partly affects the progress," Mr. Phuong said.
Periodic repair work is carried out regularly. The most recent time was in 2020, the bridge was repaired for some items such as replacing the overpass and components on the bridge; the pedestrian sidewalk has not been heavily repaired to date. After completing concrete pouring, the unit will conduct acceptance before putting the project into operation.
After completing the foundation treatment, workers continue to process steel reinforcement to prepare for pouring concrete for the bridge deck; the new asphalt paving layer will be constructed on the road section, creating a smooth surface and improving safety for vehicles.
One of the difficulties in the construction process is that trains are still traveling normally through Long Bien bridge. The repair items are organized to be constructed interspersed, ensuring that the operation of the railway line is not interrupted. However, this also has a certain impact on the process of pouring concrete on the bridge deck, because concrete needs stable time to solidify, while shaking from passing trains can affect quality.
The repair and renovation of the Long Bien bridge deck not only improves the quality of exploitation but also contributes to preserving the historical value of the bridge for more than a century - a symbol associated with the memories and face of the people of the Capital.
