Con Cuong: Locals build temporary bridge and collect fees.

(Baonghean) - In some communes such as Cam Lam, Luc Da, and Mon Son in Con Cuong district, there are currently temporary bridges across rivers and streams built by local people to collect tolls from passersby. These bridges have existed for many years, raising concerns about safety and whether the fees charged by the bridge owners are reasonable.

Bach Son is one of the most remote villages in Cam Lam commune and also the most remote commune in Con Cuong district. Previously, reaching this village, home to only 73 households, required wading across the rather deep Si Vang stream. During the flood season, the village was often isolated for days, forcing students to miss school. Crossing the stream meant climbing another mountain to reach the village. To get rice, villagers had to take a detour through Yen Hoa village in Lang Khe commune, then take a ferry across to National Highway 7A to reach the market. Even though the journey was twice as long, when they ran out of salt and rice, many had to accept paying a high price to cross the Lam River by ferry.

A temporary bridge was built by local people to collect tolls in Nam Son village (Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district).

Since the end of 2013, the situation of students in Bach Son village having to take a detour to the market to buy rice and to get to school has improved somewhat. This is thanks to the investment of Mr. Lang Van Kim's family in building a temporary bridge. It's called a bridge, but it's just a few wooden planks placed lengthwise on pillars made of bamboo cages filled with rocks. It was learned that the total investment for this "project" was 7 million dong, entirely funded by Mr. Kim's family. After building the bridge, the family also erected a guard shack to collect money from passersby. Visitors to the village with motorbikes have to pay 10,000 dong, sometimes even up to 15,000 dong per person.

According to Mr. Vi Thai Ngoc, Party Secretary of Bach Son village, a few years ago, the villagers mobilized materials to build a temporary bridge across the stream, but it was all swept away by floods. The villagers became discouraged and stopped building the bridge. After Mr. Kim's temporary bridge came into operation, each household contributed 100,000 VND to avoid paying for the bridge. The money collected from the villagers, calculated based on the number of households in the village, was enough to cover the family's investment in building the bridge, but Mr. Kim still collected money from passersby. This was explained as "covering maintenance" for the bridge; the family that built the bridge would be responsible for replacing damaged planks. Mr. Ngoc also stated that the commune government allowed the bridge builder to collect money from passersby, but there were no specific regulations regarding the amount.

The road from Yen Thanh village to Luc Son (Luc Da) village also has a temporary bridge that has existed for about 6 or 7 years. The bridge is made of roughly constructed wooden planks across the structure. This makeshift bridge is only a little over 1 meter wide, has no protective railings, and was built by the family of Mr. Luong Xuan Thuyen, a resident of Yen Thanh village. For many years, Mrs. Thuyen's (Mr. Thuyen's wife) has been sitting in a small hut collecting tolls from passersby. Since the bridge was built and tolls collected, it has been swept away by floods many times. Mrs. Thuyen's family has rebuilt it several times. In 2013 alone, they had to rebuild it four times. A wooden sign displaying the prices for different groups of people is displayed next to the guard hut. Motorcyclists pay 5,000 dong per person, while teachers from the outlying villages who pass through pay 40,000 dong per month. Students are allowed to use the bridge for free. Of course, these prices are also determined by the bridge builders themselves.

The temporary bridge across the Giang River connecting Thai Son village with Nam Son village in Mon Son commune has existed for many years. Every year, after a major flood in September or October, this bridge, with its bamboo cage supports, is swept away. When the flood recedes, Mr. Ha Van Luan's household, along with several other households in Nam Son village, pool their resources to rebuild the bridge. This bridge has a fairly high volume of pedestrian and motorbike traffic. Besides Nam Son village, Thai Hoa and Lang Yen villages also need this bridge to get to the commune center. It seems this is one of the very few temporary bridges built by locals to collect fees, with the commune government managing the fee levels. The Chairwoman of the Mon Son Commune People's Committee, Ms. Ngan Thi Ha, stated that the commune only allows bridge owners to charge transient visitors with motorbikes no more than 3,000 VND per person. Teachers are charged 25,000 VND per person per month. The commune does not collect taxes from these households and considers it as creating jobs for the bridge builders. However, according to our investigation, the bridge guards in Nam Son village did not comply with the commune's regulations. They still collected 5,000 VND per person for a round trip.

Notably, the suspension bridge across the Giang River on the road to Co Phat village has been completed. The bridge is only about half a kilometer from the temporary bridge in Nam Son village. However, residents of Nam Son village and other villages on the other side of the Giang River still have to use the temporary bridge. When the temporary bridge is swept away, a ferry crossing will reappear. The reason people cannot yet use the suspension bridge is because the road connecting the suspension bridge to Nam Son village has not yet been opened. According to the Chairwoman of Mon Son Commune People's Committee, Ms. Ngan Thi Ha, the funding for opening the road is very limited. In district People's Council meetings, the Commune People's Committee also requested the investor to open the road from the bridge abutment to Nam Son village before the rainy season to facilitate travel for the people. However, both the commune government and the people can only wait for investment funds from higher levels.

The difficulties in constructing transportation infrastructure and limited budgets have fueled the continued existence of the practice of building temporary bridges for money. And no one can be sure whether these temporary bridges are safe for those crossing them. Meanwhile, people still have to pay fees to those who build these bridges without any standards. While waiting for more solid bridges to be built, those dependent on these temporary bridges continue to pay fees arbitrarily set by the bridge builders, without any management or regulation from the authorities. When will this situation end?

Text and photos:Huu Vi