Danger lurks on the nearly 40-year-old suspension bridge over the Giang River

Anxiously crossing the suspension bridge

Giang River Suspension BridgeAlso known as Chua Market Suspension Bridge, is a bridge across the Giang River, connecting Thanh Lien and Phong Thinh communes (Thanh Chuong). This is an important residential bridge, connecting 10 communes in Cat Ngan area with the district center, so every day there are many vehicles passing by. However, after many years of use, the bridge has seriously degraded.

Currently, the suspension bridge's anchors have deteriorated and peeled off, the cable car is old, the railing system has poor load-bearing capacity, many locations are rusted, and the concrete is cracked. Because the bridge is too weak, the authorities have placed many warning signs at both ends of the bridge, and erected fences to limit large trucks from crossing the bridge. However, this is only a temporary solution, not making people feel more secure.

Mr. Hoang Thanh Long (68 years old), in Thanh Lien commune, said that when it was first built, this bridge had a very large sag. However, due to being used for too long, the cables have drifted, and the sag has become almost equal. "Crossing the bridge is always unsafe because it shakes strongly, very dangerous. Meanwhile, the number of people and vehicles passing through every day is very large, because this is also the only bridge across the Giang River. There are many days when there are many vehicles passing through, the bridge is blocked, very dangerous," said Mr. Long.

It is worth mentioning that there was a tragic accident on this bridge. Accordingly, on the evening of October 4, 2020, a 7-seat car carrying 3 people, including the driver, was crossing the Giang River suspension bridge when it 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, killing 5 people.

Before the accident, the management unit posted a sign allowing trucks under 7 tons to cross the bridge. After the accident, the bridge only allowed trucks under 5 tons. However, despite the warning, many heavy-duty vehicles still regularly cross. Mr. Ho Ba Thinh - Vice Chairman of Phong Thinh Commune People's Committee said that in 2023, the Road Management Department 2 (General Department of Roads) reinforced the support cables under the bridge beams. However, this method only reduces vibrations but still does not ensure the bridge's load-bearing capacity. "Previously, there were people on duty at both ends of the bridge to prevent overloaded vehicles from crossing the bridge, but now there are no more people on duty. The most worrying thing is that although there are signs regulating the load capacity of vehicles crossing the bridge, because there is no one on duty, at night, trucks carrying rocks and gravel with heavy loads still cross the bridge, which is very dangerous," said Mr. Thinh.

Meanwhile, both ends of the bridge are crowded and bustling areas of two communes. There are two high schools, primary and secondary schools, and a market. Therefore, during rush hour, the bridge has to endure traffic jams for hours.

According to the leader of Phong Thinh commune, traffic jams often occur at the Giang River suspension bridge. “We really hope that the Ministry of Transport will urgently build a hard bridge to meet the travel needs of the people,” said the leader of Phong Thinh commune.

Funding not yet arranged

Giang River suspension bridge was built in 1985, put into use in 1987, with a length of 120m. Initially, this bridge was located on Provincial Road 533 managed by Nghe An Department of Transport. By 2017, this provincial road was upgraded to National Highway 46C, so the road and bridge were transferred to the Ministry of Transport for management.

For many years now, at meetings with voters in the Cat Ngan communes, people have continuously suggested building a replacement bridge. Especially after the tragic accident nearly 4 years ago.

Through the investigation of the scene, the authorities determined that the cause of the accident was due to the driver not controlling the speed and because the suspension bridge was degraded and over 30 years old, when the car was traveling at high speed, it shook, increasing the risk of an accident.

After this accident, theinspection team on workand agreed that the Giang River suspension bridge has been in use for a long time, through many times of repair and maintenance but has seriously degraded. Authorities need to consider building a hard bridge to replace it, ensuring safety for people and vehicles, serving the local socio-economic development.

Thanh Chuong District People's Committee immediately submitted a report to the General Department of Roads requesting the early construction of a rigid bridge across the Giang River to replace the degraded suspension bridge. According to the report, this suspension bridge was built in 1985 and put into use in 1987, with a bridge width of 4m and a length of 120m. Through the process of exploitation and use, the Giang River suspension bridge has seriously degraded, no longer ensuring safety for people and vehicles crossing the bridge. The demand for traffic and transporting goods across the bridge is increasing, but due to the weak bridge, heavy-duty vehicles cannot pass, causing difficulties for local people, greatly affecting the demand for transporting goods and economic development in the area.

The General Department of Roads then submitted to the Ministry of Transport a decision on the investment policy for the project to build a new bridge to replace the Giang River suspension bridge, with an estimated investment of about 68 billion VND. However, the project has not yet been able to arrange capital.

Responding to a recent petition from Thanh Chuong district voters, the Ministry of Transport said that the Giang River suspension bridge was built in 1985 and put into use in 1987 on a small scale with low operating capacity, affecting operations during peak hours, so research and investment 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)", the Ministry of Transport said.

In order to invest in the Giang River Bridge soon, the Ministry of Transport has directed Project Management Board 23 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 the project documents and proactively submit them to competent authorities when balancing investment resources, the Ministry issued Decision No. 1584/QDBGTVT 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.

In the immediate future, the Ministry of Transport has directed the Vietnam Road Administration to arrange a bridgehead signaling system, strengthen bridge inspection and maintenance (replace damaged bridge deck panels, maintain anchors, cable cars, paint and repair steel structures, railings, etc.), install gantries at both ends of the bridge to control the bridge's width, and arrange a system of signs for guidance, warnings, and remote traffic separation to ensure safety during operation.