The shape of the 7th bridge, over 1,500 billion VND, across the Huong River

(Dan Tri) - Hundreds of workers have been mobilized to construct a bridge over the Huong River. Under favorable weather conditions and guaranteed construction, the bridge will be put into use during the Lunar New Year 2025.

The Huong River overpass project has been under construction since December 23, 2022, with a total investment of more than VND 2,281 billion in the completion phase, of which phase 1 is more than VND 1,855 billion. The most important part of the project is the reinforced concrete bridge and many other main steel items across the Huong River, between Da Vien islet and Thien Mu pagoda, with a construction contract value of more than VND 1,516 billion. The Huong River overpass consists of 5 spans, 6 car lanes, 2 motorbike lanes and 2 3m wide pedestrian lanes, arranged on both sides. After completion, this will be the 7th bridge on the Huong River. The 6 previous bridges include: Cho Dinh, Truong Tien, Phu Xuan, Da Vien, Tuan 1 bridges (on National Highway 1A), Tuan 2 bridges (on Cam Lo - La Son expressway).

Perspective of the Huong River overpass and approach road. The highlight of the project is the 180m long span and the steel arch over 30m high in the middle, considered to be the bridge with the longest navigable length in Vietnam. Mr. Thai Dinh Dao, Deputy Project Manager of Trung Chinh Company (the contractor for the bridge), said that each side of the bridge arch has 6 steel segments, each segment is 12m long and weighs 50-70 tons. The contractor has installed the 3 lower segments on each side of the arch, while the 3 segments on the top of the arch are being installed, expected to be completed this July and closed in early August (Photo: Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Committee).

Workers set up scaffolding to clean the outside of the bridge's arch before the construction unit used a heavy crane to lift it up and install it at a high altitude. According to Mr. Dao, to install the heavy steel components, the unit gathered 7 cranes of 25-250 tons, 5 barges and 2 push boats, operating continuously. At the construction site, 250 workers were divided into 3 shifts, in which the night shift started at 10pm the previous day and lasted until 6am the next day.

To reach the construction site at the top, workers must climb temporary stairs along the completed steel arches. When working at a height of nearly 40m above the Huong River, workers must always be careful, wear safety belts and have protective nets. "On days with light rain, we still work normally but at lower positions. When things are favorable, even in extremely hot weather, engineers and workers will divide into many teams to speed up the construction," said Mr. Dao.

In addition, thousands of "huge" scaffolding sets are stacked on top of each other to serve the bridge construction process. The height of the scaffolding will correspond to each construction phase of different bridge items.

Below, other groups of workers are also speeding up the process of installing longitudinal and cross beams and casting the bridge deck. All longitudinal and cross beams are made of steel, originating from Japan, including 128 conson cross beams (a type of structure that can support and withstand great force in the construction of bridges and roads). According to Mr. Dao, up to now, the construction unit has installed about 95% of the bridge beams, with only 2 ends remaining. The total construction volume of the Huong River overpass project has reached about 80%.

A worker welds formwork to serve the pouring of concrete for the pedestrian lane abutment on the overpass at the southern end. The deputy commander of the Perfume River overpass project said that the biggest obstacle is the weather, especially when the rainy and stormy season is approaching. According to Mr. Dao, if the weather is favorable and construction conditions are guaranteed, the contractor will complete the construction of the Perfume River overpass by the end of 2024 and can put it into service for the people during the Lunar New Year 2025.

The access roads to the two ends of the bridge are being constructed by Thua Thien Hue Road Joint Stock Company 1, but the progress cannot be accelerated due to problems in site clearance. According to the Hue City Land Fund Development Center, the total area of ​​land recovered for the Huong River overpass and access roads is about 35,700 square meters, belonging to Duc and Kim Long wards. In Duc ward, Hue city has so far approved compensation for 103/103 affected households, but only 70 households have handed over the land; in Kim Long ward, 17/22 households have been approved, and 3 households have handed over the land.

Site clearance work is carried out in a rolling manner. People hand over the land, and the construction unit will demolish houses to create a construction site. Speaking to Dan Tri reporter, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Quyen, Deputy Director of the Project Management Board for Investment and Construction of Traffic Works of Thua Thien Hue province (project investor), said that the cumulative implementation of the Huong River overpass and approach road project to date has reached about 1,238/1,516 billion VND (82.79%). For the total project capital, the investor has arranged 1,338 billion VND; disbursed 1,153.2 billion VND. According to the plan, all allocated capital will be disbursed by December 31. According to Mr. Le Anh Tuan, Director of the Department of Transport of Thua Thien Hue province, the Nguyen Hoang road and Huong River overpass project is expected to be inaugurated on March 26, 2025, celebrating the liberation day of Thua Thien Hue. The project, when completed, will open up new urban space, exploit land funds, help disperse population; at the same time, divide traffic, reduce traffic volume, and limit congestion in the central area of ​​Hue city.

The Nguyen Hoang Street and Huong River Overpass Project was approved by the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue province in 2022 and adjusted in 2023, including 2 main items: constructing a new Huong River overpass connecting Kim Long Street (Kim Long Ward) and Bui Thi Xuan Street (Duc Ward), Hue City, with a total length of about 590m and a width of 43m; upgrading and expanding Nguyen Hoang Street, with a length of more than 1km. The Nguyen Hoang Street and Huong River Overpass Project belongs to Ring Road 3, which is the main, radial traffic axis, connecting 2 satellite towns, Huong Tra and Huong Thuy towns, with Hue City.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/hinh-hai-cay-cau-thu-7-hon-1500-ty-dong-vuot-song-huong-20240719195231910.htm