Removing obstacles in site clearance to ensure progress of Rach Mieu 2 bridge across My Tho river

Rach Mieu 2 Bridge connecting Tien Giang and Ben Tre provinces, by My Thuan Project Management Board (Ministry of Transport - representative of the investor) has its starting point at Dong Tam intersection (intersection between National Highway (QL) 1 and Provincial Road 870 in Chau Thanh district, Tien Giang province; its ending point is at Km16+660 of QL60, about 0.71 km from the northern abutment of Ham Luong bridge in Ben Tre city, Ben Tre province, and has currently achieved an overall progress of more than 26% of the construction volume.

Construction site of the main bridge package of Rach Mieu 2 bridge on My Tho river.

According to Mr. Dang Ngoc Minh, Director of the My Thuan 2 Bridge Project Management Office (My Thuan Project Management Board), Rach Mieu 2 Bridge started construction in March 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2026. The bridge is 17.6 km long, with a total approved investment of VND 5,175 billion, expected to be adjusted to more than VND 6,810 billion. Rach Mieu 2 Bridge is nearly 4 km upstream from the existing Rach Mieu Bridge.

Rach Mieu 2 main bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over My Tho river, meeting the standards of a 4-lane grade III delta road, the bridge section is nearly 2km long, 21.5m wide, and has a designed speed of 80km/h. Up to this point, due to difficulties in site clearance, Ben Tre has only handed over nearly 95% of the cleared site, Tien Giang has only handed over nearly 49% of the cleared site, the scope of site handover is not continuous, and has significantly affected the progress and construction organization of the investor and contractors.

Through research, the project is divided into 6 construction packages, all of which have been implemented, and the project progress is being well controlled by contractors. At the current project site, construction units are massively deploying construction teams, focusing maximum human resources, equipment, and materials on the areas that have been handed over for construction. The main cable-stayed bridge package has so far completed all bored piles of the towers and anchors, and has completed the second/third phase of concrete construction of the two tower pedestals, which are the two critical paths of the project, and will complete the pedestals of the two towers before August 30, 2023.

Model of Rach Mieu 2 bridge when completed.

Pursuant to the direction of Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang (conclusion of meeting No. 513/TB-BGTVT dated December 1, 2022), My Thuan Project Management Board has thoroughly requested contractors and supervision consultants to closely coordinate with local authorities at all levels to promptly complete site clearance work; directed construction units to take advantage of favorable weather, work in 3 shifts, 4 shifts/day and night, increase construction sites to speed up progress; promptly and strictly accept completed construction volume and make payment according to regulations; transfer volume and immediately handle weak contractors that affect project progress...

According to Mr. Dang Ngoc Minh, the biggest current difficulty of the project in package XL03 is the limited concrete transportation route to the construction site; package XL04 is stuck with the technical infrastructure system, households on the Tien Giang bank have not been relocated, affecting the work of installing wicks to add loading to treat weak soil. In addition, the difficulty in the source of sand materials is scarce, leading to a shortage, affecting the construction progress and localities are closing sluices to prevent salinity, so equipment and materials cannot be brought into the project... Despite many difficulties, the My Thuan Project Management Board still sets a target that by the end of 2023, the project will achieve a progress of more than 30% of the construction volume.

This reality needs to be resolved by local authorities soon, to ensure high efficiency of public investment capital; at the same time, to complete the project on schedule, limit adverse impacts on people in the project area, especially in the context of traffic overloading and continuous congestion on Rach Mieu bridge, the new bridge project will be completed soon, so that people will benefit soon.

According to Tin Tuc Newspaper (Vietnam News Agency)

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