Dozens of "old, weak" bridges in Quang Ngai are still waiting for repair due to... lack of funding.

Weak and degraded bridges are everywhere.

It is noted that along provincial and national highways in Quang Ngai province, many traffic bridges are in a state of disrepair and need to be repaired to ensure traffic safety.

Van Ha Bridge is degraded, not ensuring safety for people and vehicles, and needs to be repaired and restored soon.

At Van Ha bridge, spanning the Thoa river on provincial road 627B through Duc Phong commune, Mo Duc district, cracks and damage have appeared over the years. In many places, the concrete panels protecting the bridge beams have peeled off, revealing rusty iron bars. The main pillars of the bridge are also in a similar condition.

When large vehicles pass by, Van Ha Bridge vibrates, causing residents to fear that the structure may collapse. Although it has been listed as a weak bridge in need of repair or a new bridge to replace it, funding has not yet been allocated to do so.

Mr. Truong An, resident of Duc Phong commune, said: Over the years, the concrete slabs of the bridge piers and main beams have been peeling off and damaged.

"We are very worried, especially during the rainy season when water from upstream flows very strongly. If an accident happens, there will be loss of life and property.

The bridge is very degraded. I hope the government will invest in it soon so that people can travel safely," Mr. An suggested.

Van Ha bridge's protective concrete layer peeled off, revealing rusty iron bars.

Similarly, Ben Da Bridge, on Provincial Road 624 through Cho Chua Town, Nghia Hanh District, is 54m long and has a cross-section of 8m, while the roadbed on both sides leading to the bridge has been widened over the years to a cross-section of 24m. Therefore, people are not only concerned about the safety of the structure but also about accidents.

It is known that Provincial Road 624 is a vital traffic route connecting Minh Long and Nghia Hanh districts with Quang Ngai City, with thousands of vehicles traveling every day. Therefore, during rush hours in the morning and late afternoon, vehicles traveling through this location are very difficult, often causing local traffic jams.

According to local people, the daily traffic volume across the bridge is very large, especially trucks carrying construction materials, so during rush hours, traffic jams often occur, affecting people's travel and transportation of goods, posing a potential risk of traffic accidents.

Chairman of Nghia Hanh District People's Committee Dinh Xuan Sam said that Ben Da Bridge was built decades ago. After a long time of being put into operation, the project has deteriorated, with many cracks and damages that need to be repaired and rebuilt.

Ben Da Bridge on Provincial Road 624 is degraded and too narrow, causing traffic disorder.

"Ben Da Bridge is located on the main road of the district center, with a large volume of traffic, but the current state of the bridge does not ensure safety in terms of both structure and traffic safety on the route because the approach roads at both ends of the bridge are large while the cross-section of the bridge is too narrow, making this place a bottleneck, causing disorder in traffic safety.

The locality hopes that the province will soon allocate investment funds to ensure traffic safety and the urban appearance of the district," Mr. Sam suggested.

Not only the two above-mentioned bridges, but also a series of weak, degraded and unsafe bridges in the province, such as Tra Khuc 1 Bridge (Quang Ngai City); the old Song Ve Bridge (connecting Tu Nghia and Mo Duc districts); Me Son Bridge on Provincial Road 624B; Bau Sat Bridge on Provincial Road 621; Nuoc Cam Bridge on Provincial Road 628, etc.

600 billion needed to fix weak bridge system

It is known that Quang Ngai province has hundreds of bridges of all kinds, of which the national highway and provincial road systems alone have 361 bridges. Specifically, there are 135 bridges on national highways and 226 bridges on provincial roads. Through the review of the provincial Department of Transport, there are 35 degraded and damaged bridges that need to be repaired to ensure traffic safety and minimize damage.

According to the leader of the Quang Ngai Department of Transport, most of the main bridge systems on provincial and national highways are annually inspected, inspected and planned for repair, maintenance and upkeep. However, due to severe flooding and most of the bridges were built and put into operation a long time ago, they are degraded and damaged with signs of not ensuring safety and need to allocate funds to repair them.

Tra Khuc 1 bridge pier through Quang Ngai city has peeling concrete layer, exposing iron.

However, due to limited funding, the number of weak and unsafe bridges that have been repaired and newly built is very limited. In 2024 alone, the Quang Ngai Department of Transport will allocate 25 billion VND to build new Giang River Bridge and Cay Sanh Bridge on Provincial Road 628 through Hanh Dung Commune, Nghia Hanh District. These are two weak and degraded bridges from previous years, not ensuring safety during the rainy season.

After nearly 1 year of implementation, the main items of both bridge projects have been basically completed. The contractor is focusing on constructing the remaining items to put them into operation in 2024.

In addition, the Quang Ngai Department of Transport also allocates other funding sources to organize the maintenance and repair of other bridge and culvert works to ensure safety. In particular, focusing on temporary repairs such as filling and sealing cracks, promptly handling bridge works with eroded embankments; replacing and repairing the railing system... of 37 works.

Deputy Director of Quang Ngai Department of Transport Mai Van Ha said that after checking, there were 35 weak and degraded bridges that needed to be repaired. The current state of the bridges is severely damaged, affecting the load-bearing capacity and structure of the works.

In addition, the bridge and culvert systems on district roads are also damaged and degraded and need to be repaired. However, due to the large number of bridge projects and limited funding, the damage has not been completely resolved in a timely manner.

"After reviewing, to repair the damage to the bridge and culvert system in the province, up to 600 billion VND is needed. However, this investment cannot be implemented immediately because the allocated capital is not available. The Department only focuses on minor repairs using the capital source for the transportation sector.

For major damaged bridge projects, the construction unit plans to include it in the capital construction fund or in the province's public investment plan. But all have to wait because the capital is too large," said Mr. Ha.

To repair the weak and degraded bridge system in Quang Ngai province, 600 billion VND is needed.

According to Mr. Ha, in the immediate future, to ensure traffic safety on weak and degraded bridges that have not yet been repaired with capital, the department will direct units to put up warning signs, load restriction signs, and guide vehicles to other routes...

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/hang-chuc-cay-cau-gia-yeu-o-quang-ngai-van-cho-sua-chua-vi-thieu-kinh-phi-192241014141109497.htm