Tam Nong district, Phu Tho province is surrounded by 3 rivers: Red river, Da river and Bua river, with 3 bridges crossing the rivers: Phong Chau bridge, Trung Ha bridge and Tu My bridge, which have effectively served the travel needs of people in Tam Nong district in particular and Phu Tho province in general for many years.
However, at present, all three bridges are facing problems that are disrupting traffic. As for Phong Chau Bridge on National Highway 32 across the Red River connecting Tam Nong District with Lam Thao District, as reported in dozens of articles by Lao Dong, on September 9, this bridge collapsed, causing 8 people and many vehicles to go missing under the flood waters of the Red River.
For nearly a month now, traffic has been disrupted. Although the Phong Chau pontoon bridge has been installed near the collapsed area, it certainly cannot be as convenient and fully meet the huge travel and freight needs of the people as the previous solid bridge.
Without the vital Phong Chau bridge, it is natural that students, workers, and laborers will have difficulty crossing the river. However, trucks transporting goods cannot cross the pontoon bridge, and will have to go a long way around, upstream of the Red River to Ngoc Thap bridge in Phu Tho town to be able to cross the river, a distance that should have been only a few hundred meters but now has an "extra" distance of over 30km.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hau - a truck driver living in Dan Quyen commune, Tam Nong district - shared: "Without Phong Chau bridge, vehicles have to take a detour, so transportation fares have also increased, the overall impact is easy to see. Hopefully, the new Phong Chau bridge will be built soon, ensuring smooth traffic."
Mr. Bui Van Tuyen - owner of a mobile phone store in the Phong Chau bridgehead area in Van Xuan commune, Tam Nong district - said: "Previously, this area was always bustling with people and vehicles, with buyers and sellers bustling from morning to night. However, since the bridge collapsed, my store and many retail stores around here have been very empty."
With Trung Ha Bridge, the bridge on National Highway 32 across the Da River connecting Tam Nong District with Hanoi City is currently under repair, cars with more than 7 seats cannot pass through the bridge. To cross the river, drivers will have to travel along the Da River, through Dong Quang Bridge in Dong Trung Commune, Thanh Thuy District to be able to enter Hanoi.
Similar to Trung Ha bridge, Tu My bridge on National Highway 32C across Bua river connecting Tam Nong district with Cam Khe district (Phu Tho province) is also under repair, hard barriers and no-car signs have been placed, vehicles wanting to cross the river will also have to go around, up the Bua river to cross another bridge.
Speaking to Lao Dong Newspaper reporters, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hung - Vice Chairman of Tam Nong District People's Committee - shared that the collapse of Phong Chau Bridge and the two Trung Ha and Tu My bridges under repair, disrupting traffic, has affected the overall socio-economic development of the district.
"Especially in terms of transportation, when trucks have to go around, additional costs arise. However, the province and district are making great efforts to overcome this, people and businesses also need to adapt to the current situation to overcome difficulties together - Mr. Hung confided.
