Need to have a plan to repair Cam Hieu suspension bridge soon

The thick wooden panels that support the bridge's railings are rotten and shifting, posing a potential danger to people and vehicles traveling on Cam Hieu suspension bridge - Photo: LE TRUONG

Cam Hieu Suspension Bridge was built in 1994, spanning the Hieu River with a length of 104 m, a bridge surface of 2.5 m wide, ensuring the passage of 1.5-ton vehicles. Since its inauguration, this bridge has ensured daily traffic connection for people on both sides of the Hieu River. Over the past three decades, the local government has repeatedly maintained and repaired the bridge.

However, according to the reporter's records, the steel girder system has rusted in many places; the anchor holes, suspension bars and cable bundles are dry with grease, and some cable bundles are twisted locally. Notably, the bridge deck and wooden wheel guardrails have been severely damaged and rotted, the wooden sections of the bridge railing are almost blackened and their arrangement has shifted, causing serious safety risks.

Despite such potential safety risks, people in villages in Cam Hieu and Cam Thuy communes still have to cross this bridge. Because this is an important traffic route connecting the two banks of the Hieu River with National Highway 9, the commune center, Dong Ha City and other villages.

Ms. Tran Thi Kim Anh in Dinh Xa village, Cam Hieu commune, worried: “To go to work, I have to cross the suspension bridge every day. However, the bridge is narrow and has many damaged spots, so every time I cross here, I always try to concentrate so that the wheels run properly on the iron pads, avoiding holes caused by rotten planks. In the short term, I hope that the competent authorities will soon invest in repairing the entire bridge surface. In the long term, a new bridge needs to be built to replace this one so that people can travel safely.”

According to Mr. Nguyen Tan Le in Dinh Xa village: “The traffic volume across the bridge is quite large, so every time we cross here, people have to move in turn, especially when there are cars, they have to give way to ensure safety. However, the thick wooden panels on both sides of the railing are rotten and have moved to the middle of the bridge, so it is very dangerous. In fact, there have been cars that have overturned in the middle of the bridge because they hit these wooden panels. This bridge is severely damaged and needs to be repaired soon.”

Head of Dinh Xa village, Cam Hieu commune, Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, said that Cam Hieu suspension bridge serves the travel and trade of over 500 households in Moc Duc, Dinh Xa and Truong Xa villages across both banks of Hieu river to other localities. Therefore, when discovering signs of deterioration on the bridge, people were very worried, especially at night and when it rained because the bridge surface was rotten in many places, the iron plate lining was slippery and dangerous.

“Although the bridge has been repaired many times, most recently at the end of 2023, overall safety is still not guaranteed. If it is not maintained and repaired in time, the risk of people crossing this bridge during the coming storm season is very high,” Mr. Thanh added.

Speaking to reporters, Vice Chairman of Cam Hieu Commune People's Committee Tran Duc Hoai informed that since its inauguration, Cam Hieu suspension bridge has been repaired many times at different levels. However, because the bridge was built too long ago with old techniques, it has now degraded. Recently, the Department of Construction had a meeting with Cam Lo District People's Committee and established an inspection team to survey and assess the level of deterioration of the bridge to develop a repair plan, especially some items that need timely repair. We hope that the authorities will soon have a solution to help people feel secure when crossing the bridge.

Vice Chairman of Cam Lo District People's Committee Tran Hoai Linh said that the demand and traffic volume through Cam Hieu suspension bridge is increasing. Therefore, the investment in building a new solid bridge to replace Cam Hieu suspension bridge is very necessary, in accordance with the thoughts and aspirations of the people.

With the current state of the bridge, the locality has immediately put up signs restricting trucks of 1.5 tons; installed a height limit of 1.8 m to temporarily serve the travel and production needs of local people. Based on the assessment of the current state of damage and proposals, the district is urgently coordinating with relevant departments, branches and sectors to review capital sources to soon repair the bridge, and at the same time complete procedures to propose the construction of a new bridge.

According to Mr. Linh, the process of surveying until the decision to invest in capital for repair will take a long time due to procedures, so the bridge repair will be affected. Meanwhile, at this time, localities are merging, so the procedure process will be transferred to the new administrative unit to carry out the bridge repair work soon.

Deputy Director of the Department of Construction Tran Ngoc Son informed that the department has submitted a report to the Provincial People's Committee proposing that the Cam Lo District People's Committee, as the unit managing the Cam Hieu suspension bridge, balance legal capital sources to promptly repair the immediate damage, ensuring safety for the people. At the same time, it is proposed to invest in building a new solid bridge with a permanent reinforced concrete bridge scale. The new bridge is expected to be about 100 m long, with a cross-section of 6.5 m wide, a bridge deck of 6 m wide, and a railing of 0.25 m wide on each side. The total construction cost is 14 billion VND from the medium-term public investment source 2026 - 2040, traffic safety sources and other legal capital sources.

Le Truong

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/can-som-co-phuong-an-sua-chua-cau-treo-cam-hieu-194131.htm