When will there be a hard bridge to replace the suspension bridge on the Giang River?

Horrible memories

Giang River suspension bridge (also known as Chua market suspension bridge) is located at Km105+970 on National Highway 46C; spanning Giang River, connecting Thanh Lien and Phong Thinh communes (Thanh Chuong). This is an important people's bridge, connecting Cat Van, Phong Thinh, Minh Son communes (formerly Thanh Nho, Thanh Hoa) with Thanh Lien, Thanh Tien, Thanh My communes and communes in the central area of ​​Thanh Chuong district, so every day there are many vehicles passing by.

Previously, this bridge belonged to Provincial Road 533, managed by the Nghe An Department of Transport. On February 9, 2017, the Ministry of Transport issued Decision No. 358/QDBGTVT to convert Provincial Road 533 into National Highway 46C and assigned the Road Management Department II to manage, maintain and operate from April 1, 2017.

Giang River Bridge was put into operation in 1987 according to rural traffic bridge standards with a design load of 8 tons and a narrow bridge width of 4.25m. To have this suspension bridge, the people of Chua market area (Thanh Lien, Phong Thinh) had to go through many painful memories.

Until now, many people in Phong Thinh and Thanh Lien communes still remember the terrible morning exactly 40 years ago - in 1985. At that time, the Giang River suspension bridge had not been built yet, and people had to cross the Giang River by ferry. In the crowded scene, afraid of being late for school, 11 students of Thanh Chuong 3 High School (located in Phong Thinh commune, on the left bank of the Giang River) were left lying in the cold river because the boat capsized. These students were mainly from Thanh Tien and Thanh Lien. That was also one of the most urgent and urgent cries for the Giang River suspension bridge to be built and inaugurated on January 15, 1987.

However, after many years of use, the Giang River suspension bridge has seriously degraded and poses many potential risks of accidents. Management units have sought many ways to reinforce the bridge, but tragic accidents are still inevitable. On the evening of October 4, 2020, a 7-seat car carrying 3 people, while crossing the Giang River suspension bridge, collided with a motorbike driven by a man, carrying another person going in the opposite direction. The accident caused both vehicles to fall into the river. As a result, all 5 people in the car and motorbike died.

Before the accident, the management unit had posted signs allowing trucks under 7 tons to pass through the bridge. After the accident, the bridge only allowed trucks and goods under 5 tons to pass. However, with the increasing demand for load and traffic volume of people and goods passing through this traffic point, the fact that an "old" and damaged suspension bridge still has to struggle to serve has hindered the economic and social development of both sides of the Giang River; not to mention the potential risk of insecurity. If the bridge collapses, the consequences will be extremely catastrophic.

When will there be a new bridge?

We were at the Giang River suspension bridge one day recently. At the end of school day, there were many students from Thanh Chuong 3 High School crossing this bridge.

Because the bridge is too weak, the abutments at both ends, the iron and steel structures such as railings, the bridge surface have deteriorated, there are many rust spots, peeling, so the management unit had to put up many warning signs at both ends of the bridge, from signs of load, height, width, to the distance between 2 cars when crossing the bridge and erected a fence of markers to limit large trucks crossing the bridge. However, these solutions are only temporary, cannot be a long-term solution when the people's travel needs are increasing.

Not to mention, every day the management unit has to hire 2 people to sit at 2 ends of the bridge to keep watch and regulate traffic when crossing the bridge, especially cars.

Mr. Tran Dinh Tan, an employee hired to guard one end of the bridge on the Phong Thinh commune side, said: A few years ago, he and another person were hired to stand guard at this bridge. Because this is a vital road, if you don't want to go around, you have to go all the way to Ho Chi Minh road to get to the other side of the river, so every day there are a lot of people and vehicles passing by, many times of the day such as when students go to school, at the market, the bridge is often blocked. Although it has been reinforced with cables underneath, it is inevitable that it will shake violently every time a vehicle passes by.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Nham - Chairman of Phong Thinh Commune People's Committee shared: The demand for traffic and goods transportation across the Giang River suspension bridge is increasing. For many years, at local voter meetings, people have continuously suggested building a replacement bridge, especially after the tragic accident nearly 5 years ago. However, up to now, the construction of the replacement bridge has not been implemented.

According to our research, after receiving many petitions from voters about the early construction of a new bridge across the Giang River, on January 16, 2024, the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry of Construction) issued Document No. 594/BGTVT-KHDT in response to voters' petitions. In it, it affirmed that research into investing in a replacement bridge is necessary. The Ministry of Transport has assigned the Vietnam Road Administration to include the Giang River Bridge in the list of projects to renovate, upgrade, and build new bridges to replace weak bridges on a number of national highways for investment in the medium-term public investment plan for the period 2021 - 2025. However, the capital source for the medium-term public investment plan for the period 2021 - 2025 of the Ministry of Transport approved by the National Assembly mainly focuses on investing in important and urgent driving projects according to the principles and criteria of the National Assembly and the Government, so it is not possible to balance the investment arrangement for this project (including the Giang River Bridge).

Document 594 of the Ministry of Transport also stated: In order to soon invest in the Giang River bridge, the Ministry of Transport has directed Project Management Board 2 to review and study the investment in the Giang River bridge in the project to renovate weak bridges on national highways using EDCF loans, however, because the project's surplus capital has not been determined, it is not yet qualified for implementation. In order to prepare project documents and proactively submit them to competent authorities when balancing investment resources, the Ministry of Transport issued Decision No. 1584/QD-BGTVT dated December 6, 2023, assigning the Vietnam Road Administration to prepare a Report proposing the investment policy for the investment project to build the Giang River bridge, Km105+970, National Highway 46C, Nghe An province.

It is known that after being assigned the task by the Ministry of Transport, in mid-June 2024, the Vietnam Road Administration submitted to the Ministry of Transport for approval a report proposing the investment policy for the Giang River bridge construction project on National Highway 46C.

Accordingly, the new bridge project will be built with a length of nearly 3km, the scale of a level IV plain road, the design speed of 60km/h. The bridge section is about 284m long, permanently invested with reinforced concrete and prestressed reinforced concrete.

The total investment of the project is nearly 240 billion VND from the budget, government bond capital, medium-term public investment plan for the period 2026-2030 or additional capital, savings, surplus of the public investment plan for the period 2021-2025 and other legal capital sources. Implementation period is in the period 2025-2030.

It can be seen that the construction of a new bridge across the Giang River is not only the desire of local people but also an urgent requirement to ensure traffic safety, economic and social development, and avoid repeating heartbreaking tragedies like the accident in 2020. Hopefully, authorities at all levels and functional sectors will soon implement the project, so that every time they cross the bridge, people will no longer have to live in fear like they do now.