The haunting name of Black Bridge

bad sleep

Living near the Black Bridge, Mrs. Ha Thi Van's family (Block 3, Trung Do Ward, Vinh City) has witnessed countless traffic accidents over the years, with serious cases including broken legs and minor injuries.

“Almost every day, accidents happen in this area, sometimes two a day. Most recently, a woman in Ben Thuy ward was hit by a truck carrying construction materials while turning a corner. The motorbike was dragged under the truck, and the woman broke her leg,” said Ms. Van.

A woman broke her leg after an accident at the Black Bridge intersection. Photo: PB

Partly worried about the passersby, but more so, Mrs. Van feared for the lives of her family members. In 2017, while Mrs. Van's family was sleeping, they suddenly heard a loud bang and furniture fell everywhere. Turning on the lights, the Van family was shocked to see a truck had crashed into the corner of the shop.

“Since that day, we have never slept well. Whenever we hear a car horn, we panic,” said Ms. Van, adding that the family wants to be cleared and relocated to another place so they can do business in peace and no longer have to worry about traffic accidents.

Mrs. Van's family's house is located near a corner, out of sight, so traffic accidents often occur. Photo: PB

Black Bridge crosses a low canal, connecting Hung Loi commune (Hung Nguyen) with Trung Do ward (Vinh city). When the project was completed in 2016, people living on both sides of the bridge had not yet had time to rejoice but had to worry immediately when there were too many problems that were not completely resolved.

“The bridge was built too high, while the road surface was low, the bridge abutments were also much higher than the road surface. At both ends of the bridge, the construction unit only poured crushed stone, making it very difficult for people to travel. In the rainy season, it is muddy and the rocks are slippery, and in the dry season, people suffer from sand flying into their houses, affecting the health of people living around the bridge."

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Ky - Secretary of Party Cell Block 3, Trung Do Ward, Vinh City

What Mr. Ky and the residents here are most upset about is the excessive number of traffic accidents. Especially at the corner from Phuong Hoang Street turning into the Vinh River tourist route running towards Vinh Tan Ward. Because at this location, there are still 3 households whose houses are located close to the road, which have not been cleared, causing the drivers' vision to be obstructed.

In addition, every day on this route there are many trucks carrying construction materials, cement tankers, and cargo trucks passing by. “Drivers often use this route to avoid the authorities. The time when trucks run the most is from 10am to 3pm and from 6pm to 9pm every day. Because of the large number of vehicles, traffic accidents always lurk around the people,” Mr. Ky said indignantly.

When will it be resolved?

The Black Bridge intersection has been a black spot for traffic accidents for many years. A tanker truck had to brake suddenly in the middle of a slope when the driver suddenly saw a cyclo driver in front. Photo: Pham Bang

The Black Bridge construction project is part of the overall project to repair and upgrade the Low Canal system, invested by the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen District. The project is 39m long, with a total investment of more than 53 billion VND, and was started in December 2011 and expected to be completed by June 2013. However, the project has been behind schedule for many years and has been extended many times, after which the Provincial People's Committee had to remove the contractor and replace it with another contractor.

In fact, during the project construction, people found that the bridge girder surface was 1.5m higher than the road surface, which was inappropriate, so they petitioned to lower the bridge girder surface. This request was later resolved by the authorities. However, people said that although the height of the Black Bridge was lowered, it was still high, especially compared to other bridges on the same river section such as Cua Tien 1 Bridge, Cua Tien 2 Bridge, Tung Binh Bridge, and Tan Phuong Bridge.

Agreeing with the people's opinion, Vinh City People's Committee also said that although it has been lowered, the completed height of the Black Bridge is still higher than Phuong Hoang Street and Vinh River Road, causing danger to traffic participants and not ensuring aesthetics.

The bridge abutment was built too high above the road surface, posing a danger to road users. Photo: Pham Bang

Faced with that reality, the People's Committee of Vinh City sent an official dispatch to the Provincial People's Committee to direct the Department of Transport and the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen District to handle the issues that people have reported to ensure the highest level of convenience for people's lives, traffic safety and urban beauty.

On March 11, 2019, the Provincial People's Committee issued an official dispatch assigning the Vinh City People's Committee to prepare documents to compensate and clear the land for 3 households located within the traffic intersection at the bridgehead of Trung Do ward; coordinate with the Hung Nguyen District People's Committee (investor) to organize payment to households, hand over the land to the investor before April 30, 2019.

Hung Nguyen District People's Committee arranged funds for Vinh City People's Committee to pay households, and directed the construction unit to speed up the progress of the bridgehead traffic intersection project according to the approved design documents, requiring completion before May 30, 2019.

Despite the direction of the Provincial People's Committee, in early July 2019, Vinh City People's Committee reported that the Vinh City Land Fund Center has not yet received legal documents related to the project from Hung Nguyen District People's Committee to prepare documents for compensation and site clearance.

To promptly resolve the people's legitimate aspirations, on July 30, 2019, Vinh City People's Committee had a meeting with Hung Nguyen District People's Committee. Mr. Hoang Anh Tien - Deputy Head of Vinh City Urban Management Department said that Hung Nguyen District People's Committee will proceed to extract and register the land use plan. After completing the procedures, Vinh City People's Committee will proceed with site clearance compensation and resettlement arrangements for 3 households for the investor, Hung Nguyen District People's Committee, to implement. "The procedures are being carried out, but the time to complete is still long," said Mr. Tien.

Previously, considering the submission of the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district, on November 23, 2018, the Provincial People's Committee issued a decision approving the design of construction drawings and the estimated cost of the additional adjustment of the construction items of the Black Bridge with a total estimated cost of more than 1.8 billion VND, included in the project's contingency budget.

Although there has been a project to add a traffic light system, adjust the slope by reducing the height of the bridge abutments and reduce the slope from the bridge to the road branches. Photo: Pham Bang

Specifically, the Provincial People's Committee decided to adjust the slope by reducing the height of the bridge abutment and reducing the slope from the bridge to the road branches to ensure smooth connection between houses and the road surface. At the same time, it designed an additional traffic light system at this intersection. However, according to the people, although the decision has been made, the authorities have not yet implemented it.

There are many objective and subjective reasons to explain the delay, but from the people's perspective, it is understandable that the concern is justified, because their health and lives are "in danger" every day.