Uncertainty over weak bridges in Nghe An
(Baonghean) - In Nghe An province, there are currently hundreds of bridges with weak structures that do not ensure safety. Deteriorated bridges are always a source of worry and insecurity for people when participating in traffic, especially during the rainy season.
UNSECURITY FROM DEGRADED BRIDGES
After nearly 15 years of use, the bridge across the Thai River connecting Quynh Hung and Quynh Dien communes is seriously degraded. This bridge is 40m long and 1m wide and was built by the people of Quynh Dien and Quynh Hung communes in 2005. Because it was built a long time ago, the railings on both sides of the bridge have collapsed and become crooked; every time people pass through this bridge, it is a nightmare for many people.
The bridge is long but only 1 meter wide, while the safety railing system is broken; this is the cause of many cases of vehicles falling into the river and drowning.
Every day to make a living, the people here have to risk their lives on this bridge, knowing it is very dangerous. It is known that there have been dozens of cases of people falling off their bikes into the river while crossing the bridge; recently there were 3 cases in which 3 people died due to drowning.
 |
| The communal bridge across the Thai River connecting Quynh Hung and Quynh Dien communes is seriously degraded. |
It is known that the People's Committees of Quynh Dien and Quynh Hung communes have submitted a document to the province and district requesting support for investment capital to rebuild the new bridge, but so far there has been no response. On the local side, due to limited commune budget conditions, while rebuilding the bridge requires a large amount of money.
Similarly, Phuc Giang Bridge (Phuc Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh) is located on the main traffic route of Phuc Giang Hamlet, connecting the residential areas above and below the hamlet, so in addition to serving daily trade, this route also serves students going to primary schools and kindergartens in the commune. In 2010, due to the impact of storm No. 10, accompanied by heavy rain, Phuc Giang Bridge collapsed and washed away.
The district People's Committee has also provided funding to the locality to build temporary roads to serve the people's travel. However, during the rainy season, the water from the upstream of Quan Hai dam has completely destroyed the temporary road, causing people to be isolated or have to take a detour for many days, affecting the lives of the people in the village. The bridge is degraded, making it very difficult to travel during the rainy season, so we really hope to invest in serving the people's travel needs.
Another locality with many bridges and culverts that need investment is Nghia Dan district. Currently, in Nghia Dan district, there are more than 50 bridges on district and commune roads connecting regions to serve the travel needs of people. However, there are still many culverts and spillways that are often flooded during the rainy season, causing traffic jams. Some communes are even partially isolated, affecting the travel of people, especially students. Among them, there are about 10 weak bridges that need to be upgraded and repaired to ensure the safety of people when participating in traffic.
 |
| The Gang Bridge connecting Nghia Hung commune with Nghia Hieu commune has just been newly invested in to replace the dangerous temporary spillway next to it. Photo: Viet Phuong |
Faced with the degraded bridges and the legitimate aspirations of the people, localities have identified these as urgent projects that need to be repaired soon, but due to financial difficulties, they are powerless.
Mr. Pham Ngoc Luu - Deputy Head of Infrastructure Department, Nghia Dan District People's Committee said: Among the flooded spillways, there is the spillway of Gang village connecting Nghia Hieu commune and Nghia Hung commune. This is one of the most flooded locations (usually 3 to 4 days at a time) that Nghia Hung commune voters have requested through several terms of the People's Council, but due to limited local funding, for a long time people have had to travel on the spillway which is very dangerous, especially during the rainy season.
BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION EFFORTS
As a locality with harsh weather, Nghe An province has to endure many storms and rains every year, so ensuring the safety of people crossing weak and degraded bridges is of great concern. According to the Department of Transport, in the province there are currently hundreds of bridges with weak structures, low load-bearing capacity, not meeting the needs of travel and transportation, affecting the development of the local economy and society. In order to repair and build new bridges, in recent years, the province has mobilized capital from other programs and projects, even from organizations and individuals to invest in upgrading bridges.
 |
| Tham Bridge in Chau Cuong Commune (Quy Hop) before and after being invested with LRAMP project capital. Photo: Viet Phuong |
In 2017, Nghe An was one of 50 provinces benefiting from the Local Bridge Construction and Road Asset Management Project (LRAMP) funded by the World Bank (WB). Under the project, Nghe An was invested in 102 bridges with a total investment of VND 222.7 billion, divided into 7 sub-projects. Many degraded and unsafe bridges have been reviewed and compiled by localities for investment selection.
During the construction process, the Department of Transport coordinated with localities in the province to review the needs as well as select the location to build the bridge to ensure compliance with the project criteria. The investor is the Road Management Board 4 (Vietnam Road Administration) directly inspecting the construction site. The local side will be responsible for site clearance, mobilizing people to donate land and carrying out mine clearance work at the selected locations.
In 2018, 4 component projects with 34 bridges and culverts were completed; in 2019, construction of more than 60 bridges continued...
Currently, relevant units are focusing on human and material resources to speed up progress, striving to complete 102 bridges and culverts as planned; Phuc Giang bridge (Phuc Thanh commune, Yen Thanh) is also planned for investment on this occasion.
In 2018 and 2019, thanks to the project of building public bridges and managing local road assets (Ministry of Transport) invested in, Nghia Dan was able to build 7 new public bridges, including the Gang bridge connecting Nghia Hung with Nghia Hieu. Up to now, the items have been completed and handed over for use, meeting the long-standing expectations of the people.
 |
| Thay Dong Bridge, Thanh Xuan Commune (Thanh Chuong) has just been invested from WB capital. |
The implementation of the community bridge is a great opportunity to complete the local bridge and road system because the review shows that the demand for building community bridges in the province is still very large. The leader of the Department of Transport said that in addition to the LRAMP project, the province has also mobilized capital from ministries, central agencies, and social organizations to strengthen the repair and construction of new bridges to replace weak bridges.
