Ministry of Construction sends official dispatch to Phu Tho regarding resolution of Phong Chau bridge collapse

On September 16, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha signed Official Dispatch No. 96 of the Prime Minister on urgently studying and investing in the construction of a new Phong Chau bridge on National Highway 32C connecting Tam Nong district and Lam Thao district, Phu Tho province.

Previously, the Ministry of Construction issued Official Dispatch 5273 dated September 13 to the People's Committee of Phu Tho province regarding the resolution of the incident at Phong Chau bridge project.

According to the Ministry, a serious incident occurred at Phong Chau Bridge, with two steel trusses collapsing. According to its State management function, the Ministry of Construction requested the People's Committee of Phu Tho province to pay special attention to continuing to protect the scene and take safety measures until the work of resolving the construction incident is completed in accordance with the law.

Phong Chau Bridge collapsed 2 spans (Photo: Nguyen Hai).

In addition, the People's Committee of Phu Tho province or the specialized construction management ministry, in this case the Ministry of Transport , when assigned by the Prime Minister, is the competent authority to preside over the organization of the appraisal of the cause of the incident and determine the responsibilities of relevant organizations and individuals.

This Ministry noted that during the appraisal process, the incident scene needs to be photographed, filmed, evidence collected, and necessary documents recorded to serve the appraisal of the cause of the incident and to establish an incident profile before implementing the next steps.

In addition, the unit needs to pay attention to collecting relevant technical documents during the process of management, exploitation, maintenance and repair of the project.

In addition, the Ministry of Construction requested Phu Tho province to direct functional units to conduct salvage and clearance of the riverbed to ensure safety of inland waterway traffic when conditions for this work are met; promptly report to competent authorities and propose solutions to ensure traffic on National Highway 32C.

According to the report of the Department of Transport of Phu Tho province, Phong Chau bridge at Km18 + 300 National Highway 32C (Phu Tho province) was built and put into operation in 1995.

Phong Chau Bridge was built using old technology with steel truss structure and prestressed reinforced concrete, permanent scale, design load H18 - X60, pedestrian load 0.3T/m2. The bridge is 375.36m long.

In 2013, Phong Chau bridge was repaired. According to the inspection results after repair, the bridge does not need to have load restriction signs.

In 2019, Phong Chau bridge was repaired for the second time.

In 2023, Phong Chau Bridge will continue to undergo minor repairs. The 2019 bridge inspection results assessed that the bridge does not need to have a load limit sign.

At 10:00 a.m. on September 9, Phong Chau Bridge over the Red River on Highway 32C, connecting Lam Thao and Tam Nong districts in Phu Tho province, collapsed. Preliminary statistics show that the accident caused 10 cars, 2 motorbikes and 13 people to fall into the river.

"Storm No. 3 caused heavy rain and floods, causing the Red River to rise. The rapid flow changed the riverbed's terrain, toppling the T7 pillar and collapsing the two main spans of the bridge (spans 6 and 7)," the Phu Tho Province Department of Transport stated.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/bat-dong-san/bo-xay-dung-gui-cong-van-cho-phu-tho-ve-giai-quyet-vu-sap-cau-phong-chau-20240918092817547.htm