Creating a new look for old bridges in Quang Nam

Nguyen Van Troi Bridge has had cracks repaired on piers and foundations, railings replaced, cracks pumped and cross-section repaired. Photo: Q.VIET

Improve professional skills

To date, Nguyen Van Troi Bridge has repaired cracks on piers and foundations, replaced railings, filled cracks and repaired cross-sections. Truong Giang Bridge has had its railings repainted, its bridge surface repaired, coated with salt-resistant coating, repaired cracks, cleaned culverts and reinforced control panels. Repairs and maintenance at the two pilot bridges have been basically completed.

Mr. Park Chun - Director of Daum Engineering Co., Ltd. said that many bridge construction solutions have been deployed based on safety diagnosis results, damage level and repairs according to synchronous technical solutions.

“The project will improve the bridge’s durability and extend its lifespan through regular inspection and maintenance methods,” said Park Chun.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Thanh - Deputy Director of the Department of Transport said that the project is funded by the Korean Government with a non-refundable budget of 4.75 billion won (equivalent to 90 billion VND), with an implementation period of 2021 - 2025. The construction units are Daum Engineering Co., Ltd., Woorri Company of Korea and agencies and units of the province.

According to the project program, recently the Department of Transport has coordinated with Korean enterprises and agencies to organize working trips, study tours for leaders of the Department of Transport and technical training for engineers of the Department of Transport and engineers of maintenance contractors in Quang Nam.

The 21-day engineering training program in Korea has trained students in both theory and practice, visited key projects and experienced modern Korean bridge construction techniques and technologies.

Thus, up to now, through the project, the Korean Government has supported Quang Nam to improve the professional capacity of engineers in inspecting, assessing safety and maintaining bridges using smart technology; sponsoring and installing smart devices on bridges to monitor and detect risks in time for repair; developing procedures, standards, and manuals on safety inspection of old bridges; transferring sponsored technologies and equipment to Quang Nam for management and use at 2 pilot bridges and the monitoring center at the Department of Transport.

Focus on bridge maintenance

According to Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ho Quang Buu, in recent times, Quang Nam has paid special attention to maintaining road traffic infrastructure in general and bridges in particular for the purpose of sustainable development. The province's mechanisms and policies have made important contributions to the management and maintenance of bridges and roads. The Provincial People's Council issued Resolution 165 dated July 8, 2010 on the management and maintenance of road traffic infrastructure in the province.

Inspecting, maintaining and upgrading old bridges in the province to ensure traffic safety is very urgent. Photo: Q.VIET

Accordingly, every year the provincial budget allocates funds to manage and maintain provincial roads and bridges, and at the same time supports localities with funds to manage and maintain district roads, rural traffic routes, and bridges with a total capital of 800 billion VND mobilized from 2011 to 2021.

According to Mr. Tran Ngoc Thanh, currently, the total length of the road system in the province is 10,800km with more than 1,600 bridges. Due to difficulties in capital sources, the provincial budget prioritizes the construction of new projects for socio-economic development, the budget balance has not met the needs of management and maintenance of the traffic system in the province, especially the inspection, maintenance and upgrading of old bridges to ensure traffic safety.

In addition to budget issues, technology and smart techniques in managing, maintaining, inspecting, monitoring, and upgrading old bridges in the province also face many difficulties.

Therefore, to maintain the old bridges, the Department of Transport advised the Provincial People's Committee to mobilize support resources from abroad. The good news is that in the coming time, the Korean Government will support Quang Nam to develop capacity in smart maintenance technology for the Song Truong and Nuoc Oa bridges (connecting Nam Tra My and Bac Tra My districts).

In addition, the Project “Developing capacity for smart maintenance technology for old bridges in Quang Nam” will help the Department of Transport have a team of officers and engineers knowledgeable about smart bridge maintenance technology; apply modern technology, install equipment and sensors to monitor large bridges on key routes such as Cua Dai, Giao Thuy, Cam Kim, Ong Dien bridges, etc., thereby promptly repairing damage and prolonging the life of the project.

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