Weak bridge, don't know when it will collapse
On the residential road that people in 4 communes of Vinh Long, Vinh Chap, Vinh Thai and Vinh Tu (Vinh Linh district, Quang Tri province) often travel, there is a bridge located in Truong Ky village of Vinh Tu commune that has been damaged.
The bridge named Truong Ky was built 42 years ago by hand, 13m long, 5m wide with a designed load of 13 tons. After many years of exploitation with many vehicles passing by, the bridge has seriously degraded, the stone bridge abutments have sunk, the bridge surface has sagged, and the railings have collapsed.
Every day, Mr. Bach Van Bac (50 years old, living in Truong Ky village) passes the bridge, so he knows that the damage to the bridge is getting more and more serious. "Everywhere I look, I see damage. Even though there are signs warning that heavy vehicles are not allowed to pass, the vehicles still run because if they don't cross the bridge, what other road will they take? The most worrying thing is during the rainy season, the water rises and covers the bridge, while the railings are collapsed. If someone who is not familiar with the road falls down, their life will be in danger," Mr. Bac said anxiously.
Similar to Truong Ky bridge, Luu Nghia bridge in Trieu Long commune (Trieu Phong district, Quang Tri province) also has no railings, the bridge surface is punctured, the beams are cracked, the iron bars are all rusty, and it is unknown when it will collapse. Despite such a deterioration, because it is located on the main road connecting the four communes of Trieu Long, Trieu Thuan, Trieu Dai, Trieu Hoa, Luu Nghia bridge still has to carry hundreds of people and vehicles every day.
The bridge was built more than 30 years ago. Recently, the bridge surface of Luu Nghia has been damaged many times, so the commune had to allocate funds for temporary repair and report to the district to find a solution. However, up to now, the district authorities have only conducted a field survey and every time people pass by, they are worried about the bridge collapsing.
Must gradually overcome due to lack of capital
According to the Department of Transport of Quang Tri province, in addition to the two degraded bridges mentioned above, there are currently 85 weak bridges on roads managed by districts and towns in the province. In addition, there are 17 weak bridges on national highways under management and provincial roads under management, including 4 bridges on national highways and 13 bridges on provincial roads.
Mr. Bui Duc Thanh - Head of Traffic Infrastructure Department, Department of Transport of Quang Tri province said that in the immediate future, it is necessary to strengthen the maintenance of weak bridges using local transport career funds. In the context of limited funding, it is necessary to promptly detect damage and deterioration for minor repairs, in order to maintain the ability to exploit the current status.
In the long term, the department will synthesize, review, and coordinate with localities to assign a consulting unit to review and specifically evaluate weak bridges in the area, then advise the People's Committee of Quang Tri province to include them in the medium-term plan for investment and upgrading.
To ensure safety during the operation of weak bridges, the People's Committee of Quang Tri province has requested to strengthen regular maintenance inspections and organize inspections of weak bridges to have an upgrade plan.
“Quang Tri province has assigned the provincial Department of Transport to coordinate with the Department of Planning and Investment, the Department of Finance... to propose a list of investments to build new bridges to replace weak bridges in the area in order of priority. The weak bridges will be considered by the provincial People's Committee and reported to the competent authority for investment priority in the 2026-2030 medium-term plan,” said Mr. Le Duc Tien - Vice Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee.
