Ninh Cuong Bridge Construction Investment Project Over Ninh Co River: Resolving Traffic Conflicts Between Road and Water Transport

With the goal of facilitating connection on National Highway 37B between Nghia Hung district and Truc Ninh district, overcoming the disruption of waterway traffic on Ninh Co river; thereby helping to promote socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security in Nam Dinh province in particular and the Red River Delta in general, on June 18, 2024, the Ministry of Transport issued Decision No. 747/QD-BGTVT approving the investment project to build Ninh Cuong bridge across Ninh Co river on National Highway 37B.

Construction site of Ninh Cuong bridge across Ninh Co river. (Project profile)

National Highway 37B plays an important role in connecting traffic between the three coastal provinces of the Southern Red River Delta, namely Thai Binh, Nam Dinh and Ha Nam, with a total length of over 139km; the section through Nam Dinh province has a total length of 63.5km, passing through 6 districts: Giao Thuy, Hai Hau, Truc Ninh, Nghia Hung, Y Yen and Vu Ban. On National Highway 37B crossing the Ninh Co River, people traveling between Nghia Hung and Truc Ninh districts by Ninh Cuong pontoon bridge face many limitations. Mr. Nguyen Van Cam, Hai An commune (Hai Hau), who regularly travels across Ninh Cuong pontoon bridge, said: Ninh Cuong pontoon bridge meets the basic travel needs of people and vehicles participating in traffic. However, when traveling through Ninh Cuong pontoon bridge by private car like me, in addition to having to avoid the daily opening hours of the bridge (morning from 9-10am; afternoon from 3-4pm) for water vehicles to pass, I sometimes have to wait 5-10 minutes for oncoming cars to pass before I can go because the pontoon bridge only allows cars to travel in one direction. Not only that, every time there is a storm from level 6, or the flood on Ninh Co river is alerted from level 2 or higher, the pontoon bridge must temporarily stop operating, the pontoon must be removed to ensure safety, I have to go around for dozens of kilometers, which is both time-consuming and increases costs, so it is extremely inconvenient.

According to statistics from Hoang Nam Construction Joint Stock Company, the unit entrusted by the Department of Transport to manage and operate Ninh Cuong pontoon bridge, it is estimated that every day Ninh Cuong pontoon bridge serves thousands of people and vehicles crossing Ninh Co river; the situation of people and vehicles being locally congested during bridge opening hours and rush hours of the day is not uncommon. In addition, road vehicles when traveling through the pontoon bridge are only allowed to have a maximum load of 10 tons and a height of less than 3.5m. Not only is it a "bottleneck" in road transport, Ninh Cuong pontoon bridge also causes great obstacles for water vehicles traveling on Ninh Co river because the bridge is only open for 2 hours a day. In addition, after a long period of use, although it has been regularly repaired and upgraded, in 2023, at Ninh Cuong pontoon bridge, an incident occurred where a cargo ship collided with the pontoon bridge, causing damage to people and property. Most recently, on June 24, 2024, the Ninh Cuong pontoon bridge had to temporarily stop operating from 8:15 a.m. to 12:35 p.m. to repair a cracked beam. During the time the pontoon bridge was temporarily stopped for repair, hundreds of road vehicles had to divert traffic in other directions, and inland waterway traffic had to stop completely.

Workers of Hoang Nam Construction Joint Stock Company operate Ninh Cuong pontoon bridge.

According to Decision No. 747/QD-BGTVT, the project is invested by Thang Long Project Management Board. The project has a total investment of VND 581,189 billion (equivalent to about USD 24,131 million). Of which, ODA loan capital from the Korean Government (through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund - EDCF) is about VND 465,722 billion (about USD 19,337 million); counterpart capital from the central budget is about VND 63,247 billion and local budget is about VND 52,22 billion. State budget capital is arranged in the medium-term public investment plan for the period 2021-2025 and the period 2026-2030. Project implementation progress is in the years 2024-2027.

The construction site is in Nghia Hung and Truc Ninh districts with a land area of ​​about 5.21 hectares; is a group B project; a level II road traffic project, Ninh Cuong bridge is a level I project. The Ninh Cuong bridge construction investment project has a route from about Km73+200 on National Highway 37B, the route turns left then goes straight across Ninh Co river through Ninh Cuong bridge. The construction site of Ninh Cuong bridge is about 80m downstream from the current pontoon bridge, then goes straight to the end point at about Km74+500. The design scope of Ninh Cuong bridge is about 892.2m long (including the retaining wall and 10m of the bridge head road); in which the total length of the bridge is about 670m.

Comrade Dinh Xuan Hung, Director of the Department of Transport, said: The investment project to build Ninh Cuong bridge across Ninh Co river to replace Ninh Cuong pontoon bridge aims to resolve traffic conflicts between road and waterway transport; shorten travel time and costs in Nghia Hung and Truc Ninh districts; contribute to reducing traffic congestion and accidents. Ninh Cuong bridge is the third bridge across Ninh Co river to be invested in and built. When completed and put into operation, it will create favorable conditions for people and road vehicles to travel conveniently on the entire National Highway 37B; ensure safe and smooth inland waterway traffic on Ninh Co river, thereby making an important contribution to successfully implementing the province's comprehensive socio-economic development goals in the new situation. In the coming time, the Department of Transport will continue to advise the Provincial People's Committee to complete the documents and procedures to strive to soon start the investment project to build Ninh Cuong bridge across Ninh Co river, meeting the expectations of the people./.

Article and photos: Thanh Trung

Source: https://baonamdinh.vn/kinh-te/202406/du-an-dau-tu-xay-dung-cau-ninh-cuong-vuot-song-ninh-co-giai-taa-xung-dot-traffic-thong-giua-van-tai-duong-bo-va-duong-thuy-979066d/