Bridge and road connection, traffic takes off

Cable-stayed bridge extension costing over 5,000 billion - a story just told

Participating in the My Thuan 2 bridge project from the very beginning, for three Tet holidays, every year Mr. Trinh Truong Hai, Executive Director of the My Thuan 2 bridge project (PMU 7) has witnessed and experienced the traffic jams and congestion on My Thuan 1 bridge before and after Tet.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Duy Lam directed the construction of the My Thuan 2 Bridge project on December 6, 2023. Photo: Huynh Nhu.

"The traffic jams were horrifying, jammed from morning to night on the bridge. Everyone working on the construction site tried their best, working through holidays and Tet so that My Thuan 2 bridge could soon be built to share the load with My Thuan 1 bridge," said Mr. Hai.

My Thuan 2 Bridge was implemented by domestic engineers from project management, design, supervision and construction. Project Management Board 7 has experience in managing and operating the Rach Mieu cable-stayed bridge project connecting Tien Giang - Ben Tre (inaugurated on January 19, 2009). However, My Thuan 2 Bridge is large in scale, the girder structure is constructed at a position about 38m above the river surface, the main span is 350m. The project is located right at the junction of three rivers with two erosion holes nearly 42m deep, under the riverbed near the tower area. The structure of the cable-stayed bridge is large in span, the foundation is bored piles with a diameter of 2.5m and a pile depth of 115m.

The project was assigned to be implemented in 3 years, but 2 years were stuck with the Covid-19 pandemic and social distancing. Mr. Hai recalled: "There was a time when it seemed impossible to reach the finish line by the end of 2023 as originally planned. With the strong and regular direction of Project Management Board 7, the support and close coordination of specialized agencies and localities; implementing additional solutions, proactively sourcing materials, updating and announcing material prices, promptly clearing capital flows to mobilize a large amount of construction materials.

Contractors are implementing 3 on-site measures according to the "closed bubble" model to fight the epidemic, and difficulties affecting progress are gradually being resolved. The most experienced, capable, and responsible personnel are mobilized to the construction site. In addition to managing the overall progress, it is necessary to make detailed construction plans for each item, each month, each day to manage and promptly take measures to overcome and compensate for progress.

For cable-stayed bridges, controlling the geometric dimensions of the bridge in general and the longitudinal curve of the bridge in particular is very important. However, this is quite complicated due to the influence of many objective factors related to the construction sequence, material characteristics and environmental factors such as temperature, wind, etc.

Therefore, right from the beginning of the construction, the investor directed the construction unit and consultants to coordinate to prepare and clarify technical parameters for the construction process. With the application of the above solutions, the project has been implemented continuously and effectively, exceeding the required schedule.

My Thuan 2 Bridge was inaugurated on December 24 along with My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway. The Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho Expressway, over 121km long, has officially been connected. This Tet, there will be no more traffic jams and congestion on the old My Thuan Bridge, and the road home for Tet reunions with family and people will be shortened.

Crushing rocks to replace soil to build highways

As someone who has "lived" on the Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet expressway for 3 years, Mr. Phan Quoc Huy, Director of the Project Management Board, still remembers clearly that when the project started, everyone had to wear masks. During the implementation process, the construction site was blocked off because many officials were infected with Covid-19. Lack of earthen materials caused the completed roadbed to turn into rivers when the rainy season came. The leaders of Project Management Board 7 proactively worked with competent authorities to promptly issue specific mechanisms regarding earthen material sources.

The completion of Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet Expressway has promoted economic and social development in the Central provinces.

At the same time, proactively reported to the Ministry of Transport to allow crushing of rocks from mountain demolition to replace the soil for the foundation. Although the cost is higher than land, there is no additional cost compared to the signed contract. This has solved nearly 2 million out of the total 9.2 million cubic meters of soil for the entire project.

It was not until mid-2022 that the biggest difficulties with new materials were basically resolved. During the peak period, the entire construction site mobilized more than 1,000 motorbikes, main equipment and more than 3,000 officers and workers to concentrate all their efforts, working in 3 shifts and 4 shifts. The number mobilized increased 3 times compared to the requirements in the bidding documents.

Project Management Board 7 and Project Management Board promptly handle acceptance and payment to create cash flow for contractors to organize construction to ensure progress. Regardless of day or night, whenever the contractor has volume, the departments follow closely from the field, determine the volume as quickly as possible, even at midnight, so that the next morning they can promptly transfer payment documents.

On the contrary, for contractors who do not ensure the ability to make progress, the Board requires the addition of new subcontractors and replacement of weak construction teams in all 4 packages. The main contractor must collect the volume of the delayed subcontractors to perform by itself or transfer it to joint venture units to undertake.

For the first time at a large construction site, implementing the direction of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Transport launched the emulation movement "120 days and nights to technically open 4 expressway projects: Mai Son - National Highway 45, Cam Lo - La Son, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet, Phan Thiet - Dau Giay". The emulation movement will be implemented from September 2022 to the end of December 2022.

With the attention and drastic direction of the Government, the Ministry of Transport, the support of ministries, branches, localities and the efforts and attempts with the spirit of "overcoming the sun, overcoming the rain, overcoming the pandemic, overcoming the price storm, overcoming oneself to complete the task in difficult conditions" of Project Management Board 7, the contractor, the construction consultant and the units participating in the project have completed the assigned political tasks, putting the project into operation on May 19, 2023.

"Personally, I and the individuals and units participating in the project are very proud of this achievement. This is the result of a process of tireless efforts and striving," said Mr. Huy.

For the first time, Binh Thuan province welcomed more than 8.5 million visitors with total tourism revenue reaching over VND 23,000 billion, nearly double that of 2022, becoming one of 9 provinces and cities with tourism revenue of over VND 10,000 billion.

In 2023, Ninh Thuan province also welcomed nearly 3 million tourists, the province aims to attract over 3.2 million tourists in 2024.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/cau-duong-noi-thong-giao-thong-cat-canh-192240211125955336.htm