The harshness of nature, leading to changes in the river flow and erosion, has helped to identify damaged areas of the Lo River bridge piers, prompting urgent efforts to repair and prevent catastrophic collapse.
Nhat LanNovember 16, 2025
"Giving credit to... the floods" was the opinion of an elderly voter in my neighborhood, when he discussed the issue of several pillars of the Lo River bridge being damaged and exposing rusted steel reinforcement after only 10 years of use. The discussion arose because, while waiting to meet with the ward's People's Council representatives, voters enthusiastically discussed neighborhood and ward matters, and then focused on the Lo River bridge issue, which was "a hot topic in the press, on Facebook, and even in the National Assembly."
The Lo River Bridge viewed from above.
The incident at the Lo River bridge has sparked much discussion and debate. There have been accusations of negligence in supervision, poor construction, instances of contractors embezzling funds, and bureaucratic inefficiencies in inspection and testing. An elderly voter, upon hearing this, remarked: "This year's floods have caused so many disasters, but in this particular case, the floods deserve credit..." His opinion sparked further discussion and debate. He continued: "The foundation and pier components of the Lo River bridge were constructed submerged in water, so I'm certain that without the impact of the floods, they wouldn't have been exposed. Therefore, the floods clearly played a role in the timely detection, allowing for focused repairs to ensure traffic safety and clarifying whether or not there was any embezzlement or corruption in the project... Otherwise, if the bridge had collapsed, the extent of the disaster would be immeasurable..."
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This year the floods have caused so much devastation, but in this particular case, credit should be given to the floods themselves…”
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According to press reports, the damage to the Lo River bridge has been identified as follows: pier T5 is severely eroded down to the limestone geological layer, exceeding the design erosion level by 5.5m; the downstream bored piles are only submerged in soil and rock to a depth of about 4.1/17m, with many piles showing concrete peeling, exposing and rusting the reinforcing steel. Piers T3, T4, and T6 also show signs of erosion, with one bored pile at pier T6 experiencing a reduction in cross-sectional area from 1.5m to 1.35m in diameter…
From December 2024, inspection results from the Road Engineering Center - Vietnam Road Administration and periodic inspection results from Phu Tho Road Joint Stock Company after the 2024 rainy season showed that the Lo River bridge had localized damage. From August to October 2025, due to the impact of typhoons No. 5, 10, and 11, Phu Tho province experienced prolonged heavy rain, causing the Lo River to rise. During this period, the Phu Tho Provincial Department of Construction had to reroute traffic across the Lo River bridge to ensure the safety of people and vehicles. On October 27th, when the Lo River water receded, the Phu Tho Provincial Department of Construction conducted a site inspection and discovered further structural damage to the bridge, posing a risk to traffic safety. This led to an urgent announcement prohibiting people and vehicles from crossing the Lo River bridge from 1:30 PM on October 27, 2025. From this point onwards, information and images of the Lo River bridge, with its eroded pillars exposing rusted steel, began appearing frequently in newspapers and on social media, raising questions about the quality of the construction!
A close-up view of the damaged bridge pier on the Lo River (Phu Tho province).
Notably, information also reported in the press indicates that the Lo River bridge project, before being handed over for use, underwent technical appraisal by the relevant department; and in subsequent periods, there were numerous further inspections and audits (“Prosecution of the Lo River bridge case: The project was repeatedly inspected and technically appraised” - Tienphong.vn, November 12, 2025). On November 12, 2025, a survey team from the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment, upon visiting the site to examine the deterioration of the Lo River bridge, also raised serious questions about the quality of construction as well as the acceptance and quality inspection process (“National Assembly representatives directly survey the Lo River bridge, pointing out a series of legal loopholes” - Vietnamnet, November 12, 2025).
In general, transportation infrastructure projects involve significant budget investment and require very high technical standards to ensure long-term durability. With road construction, poor quality is easily noticeable through deterioration, subsidence, and damage. However, in bridge construction, many components such as foundations and piers are located below ground and underwater. After completion, unless a specialized agency with sufficient expertise and impartial, objective inspection and assessment conducts the work, no one can truly know the quality of the structure.
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The harshness of nature, leading to changes in the river flow and causing erosion, has contributed to highlighting the damaged areas of the Lo River bridge piers...
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Connecting this information, upon reflection, the opinion of the elderly voter in my block, though seemingly "unpleasant to hear," makes sense. The harshness of nature, leading to changes in the river flow and erosion, has actually helped identify the damaged sections of the Lo River bridge piers, prompting urgent repair and remediation efforts to prevent a catastrophic collapse. This will also serve as a valuable lesson not only for the units implementing transportation infrastructure projects, but also for managers and responsible agencies.
Therefore, it's only right to give credit to… the floods!
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