Quang Tri will repaint the historic Hien Luong bridge in two new colors, blue and yellow.

Cầu Hiền Lương được sơn 2 màu xanh vàng lần đầu năm 2014 - Ảnh: HOÀNG TÁO — Hien Luong Bridge was painted in two colors, blue and yellow, for the first time in 2014 - Photo: HOANG TAO

On the afternoon of June 21, Mr. Le Dinh Hao - Head of the Cultural Heritage Management Department (Department of Culture - Sports and Tourism of Quang Tri) - said that Quang Tri province has just received a document giving opinions on the appraisal of the Thong Nhat Park project at the special national relic site of Doi Bo Hien Luong - Ben Hai from the Ministry of Culture - Sports and Tourism.

The province is submitting documents to renovate and embellish many works and items at the special national historical relic of Hien Luong - Ben Hai, including the flagpole, the complex house, Hien Luong bridge, etc.

Accordingly, with the restoration and repair of the historic Hien Luong Bridge, the Ministry requested the province to conduct a small-scale pilot painting, evaluate the results as a basis for large-scale repainting; select and preserve the replaced architectural parts of the Hien Luong Bridge.

At Hien Luong Bridge, part of the steel frame structure is damaged, rusted, the wooden planks on the bridge are rotten, and unsafe for large numbers of visitors to walk on.

Mr. Hao said the restoration will dismantle part or all of the historic Hien Luong bridge, evaluate which components can still be used, replace part of the steel frame, degraded wooden planks, etc.

"Hien Luong Bridge has not been repaired synchronously for a long time. The project will replace most of the bridge's planks and iron frame in the spirit of absolutely preserving the original elements, not destroying the architectural space and not renovating the original relic," said Mr. Hao.

The steel structure will be replaced with two colors, blue and yellow. According to the request of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the industry will test the paint and then set up an acceptance team, matching the old color before painting it uniformly globally. The old materials will be replaced and a suitable space will be selected for storage.

In 2014, for the first time, Hien Luong Bridge was restored with two colors of blue and yellow paint on the steel frame structure, following the bridge's historical color when the country was not yet unified. After 10 years, the bridge's paint color has faded and peeled off.

Hien Luong Bridge was built by France in 1952. According to the 1954 Geneva Agreement, Vietnam was temporarily divided into two regions and took the 17th parallel with the Ben Hai River as the boundary, Hien Luong Bridge was divided into two.

On Hien Luong Bridge, there was a fierce "paint war". Half of the bridge on the south bank was painted one color, while the north bank was repainted the same color, symbolizing the desire for unification. The paint war lasted until 1960, when the two colors of blue and yellow were kept.

In 1967, the bridge was destroyed by American bombs. The current bridge was restored after the country was reunified.

The project will start construction in the third quarter of 2024 and be completed in 2025, with a total investment of 80 billion VND.