Difficulty in maintaining traffic flow

At the third watch of a day in mid-September, when the space was still immersed in darkness, hundreds of officers and soldiers of the 249th Engineering Brigade (Engineer Corps) along with a full system of equipment and weapons were present on both banks of the Red River, urgently connecting the spans of the pontoon bridges to serve the travel needs of the people.

Officers and soldiers of the 249th Engineering Brigade (Engineer Corps) operate a pontoon bridge to serve people from dawn.

The green shirts moved quickly back and forth, some lighting the light bulbs, some checking the joints, smoothing the grooves on the bridge, some carefully guiding and directing the vehicles slowly moving across the bridge. The yellow light stretched along the water surface, clearly illuminating the tense but determined faces of the soldiers, who were hurriedly connecting the rhythm of life on both banks of the Red River.

More than a year ago, storm No. 3 suddenly made landfall across the Northwestern provinces, bringing with it prolonged heavy rains, rising water levels, and strong currents, causing two spans of the Phong Chau bridge across the Red River connecting Tam Nong and Lam Thao districts (now Tam Nong and Lam Thao communes) to collapse. The incident was particularly serious, paralyzing traffic on both banks. People who used to only take 5 minutes to cross the river now had to take a detour of more than 40 kilometers.

Phong Chau pontoon bridge serves about 15,000 people and vehicles every day. Photo: Contributor

In the urgent situation, following the direction of the Ministry of National Defense , the Command of the Engineering Corps proactively assigned the task to the 249th Engineering Brigade to promptly ensure the pontoon bridge to serve the travel needs of the people. According to Colonel Do Huu Tiem, Party Secretary and Political Commissar of the 249th Engineering Brigade, determining that this is an urgent, urgent task, undertaken for a long time, with many difficulties and challenges, the Brigade Party Committee promptly issued a specialized resolution to lead the task of ensuring the Phong Chau pontoon bridge with appropriate and correct policies and solutions; assigning specific tasks to each comrade of the Party Committee, as well as the team of cadres directly commanding the troops.

Many cadres, party members, and soldiers are willing to put aside family matters and personal feelings to volunteer to go on a mission. That is Corporal Mua A Pua, a soldier of Company 3, Battalion 1, from Thu Cuc commune, Phu Tho province, even though he was about to be on leave, he still volunteered to go on a mission. Or like Senior Lieutenant Trinh Duc Tai, Deputy Captain of Engineering, Company 1, Battalion 1, although he had just met his lover's family, the young couple were planning a hundred years of happiness, but when assigned a mission, he was willing to put it aside, because "the people are ahead".

Colonel Tran Van Tuan, Brigade Commander of the 249th Engineer Brigade, still remembers clearly the difficulties and challenges the unit had to face when mobilizing to the scene: The road to the wharf was narrow, the ground was sinking and collapsing, the floodwaters were constantly rising and flowing rapidly, the amount of garbage from upstream was increasing... requiring the unit to have careful preparation in terms of human resources, vehicles, equipment and technical measures to ensure the safe and effective completion of the task of building the pontoon bridge.

As soon as they set up camp, the officers and soldiers of the Brigade immediately began to scout the area, measure the flow, level thousands of cubic meters of rock to make a path; pour more than 11,000 cubic meters of concrete to build the wharf frame, creating a system of embankments to prevent landslides... After only a few days, the first spans of the pontoon bridge were quickly launched, technically opened to traffic, checked and calibrated for technical parameters, ensuring the bridge's stable operation. From here, the pontoon bridge of the 249th Engineer Corps became the "blood vessel" of traffic connecting the two banks of the Red River, serving more than 15,000 people and vehicles every day.

Vehicles crossing the pontoon bridge are carefully and attentively guided and directed by officers and soldiers of the 249th Engineering Brigade.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Tu, Deputy Brigade Commander of Engineering, 249th Engineer Brigade, is one of the officers who regularly accompanies the troops during the process of maintaining the pontoon bridge, so he understands better than anyone the difficulties and hardships of the officers and soldiers. Therefore, during peak times, when there is a lot of traffic, he is always on duty with the troops, both guiding them to perform the correct operations, promptly directing the handling of arising problems, and being ready to "roll up his sleeves" to work for the troops when encountering complicated situations.

Engineers of the 249th Corps used sections of pontoon bridges to form a ferry to transport people across the river. Photo: Engineer Brigade 249

Talking to the engineer officer with sunburned skin, we learned that, to ensure absolute safety for people traveling across the pontoon bridge for over a year, the unit has been performing its duties regardless of time, in all weather conditions. Especially, on days of prolonged heavy rain, high water, and strong currents, the troops' tasks become even more difficult when they have to continuously temporarily cut off the pontoon bridge; instead, the troops use military ferries, which are pontoon bridge segments that have been disassembled, have reinforced railings, and are towed by ships to transport people across the river. In addition, after 9 p.m. every day, the unit has to cut off the pontoon bridge to inspect and maintain the bridge segments, handle stuck waste, and create conditions for boats to operate. The unit's tasks often end after 10 p.m. and start again at 3 a.m.

Mr. Nguyen Van Binh, a resident of Zone 2, Tam Nong Commune, Phu Tho Province, expressed his emotions: “After the Phong Chau Bridge incident, at first, we had to go in a long detour, which was very difficult. Thanks to the 249 Engineer Corps, people quickly had a way to cross the river. It is true that every time we cross the pontoon bridge of the army, it is shaky, but we feel very safe and stable.”

Touching stories at Phong Chau ferry

In the process of ensuring the Phong Chau pontoon bridge to serve people crossing the river, officers and soldiers of the 249th Engineer Brigade encountered many special situations, requiring the commander to be truly flexible and decisive in handling them. On the night of April 6, 2025, when the unit was trying to pour concrete on the overpass to meet the construction schedule, suddenly an ambulance blared its siren and asked to pass urgently. At that time, the pump and mixer truck had occupied almost the entire bridge. On the vehicle was a little girl with a high fever, respiratory failure, and extremely critical condition. In a split second, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Tu immediately ordered: "Stop all work, urgently open the way for emergency treatment!". The soldiers quickly and hurriedly collected the pump, pulled the hose, and urgently moved the vehicle to the side. The ambulance quickly passed. A few hours later, the news that the little girl was out of danger made everyone breathe a sigh of relief. The child's father, Mr. Ha Van Chang (30 years old, residing in Thanh Son commune, Phu Tho province), could not help but be moved when mentioning the timely and humane actions of the engineering soldiers: "In the middle of a rainy and windy night, my child was in critical condition. If the engineering soldiers had not promptly stopped the construction and cleared the road for the ambulance, my child would not have been saved. Although their work was extremely difficult and the time was urgent, they were still determined to take care of the people. My family is truly impressed and grateful..."

Kindly guide people to wear life jackets before boarding the ferry to cross the river.
Soldiers help people carry heavy goods off the military ferry.
During the process of ensuring traffic through the pontoon bridge, soldiers regularly assist vehicles to cross the bridge smoothly.

Besides the touching story mentioned above, every day at Phong Chau overpass, there are images of the engineer soldiers kindly helping each elderly person, supporting pregnant women, guiding young students across the bridge; even becoming steady drivers for people to cross the bridge. Regardless of the harsh sun or pouring rain, they are always on duty on each bridge span, promptly reminding people to stay safe, assisting when heavily loaded motorbikes slip, or when people struggle with bulky loads... In particular, during the construction of the opposite bank of the Red River (Tam Nong-Lam Thao), officers and soldiers of the Brigade renovated and upgraded two roads leading to the wharf with a total length of 720m, about 10m wide. Currently, the road has been firmly reinforced by the Brigade, with smooth asphalt, helping people to travel smoothly.

Image of the new Phong Chau bridge before its inauguration. Photo: TRONG TUNG
Workers are checking and adjusting the bridge railing. Photo: DUC HOANG

Witnessing the new Phong Chau bridge crossing the Red River, which is about to be inaugurated, the hearts of the officers and soldiers of the 249th Engineer Brigade are filled with joy, but also an indescribable excitement as they are about to complete their mission and return to their units. After more than a year of attachment, the 249th Engineer soldiers have left behind here so much sweat, effort and many beautiful memories. The people of the Fatherland will forever remember the image of the soldiers "opening the way to victory" working diligently every day on the hot pontoon bridge... When mentioning them, I always remember the heartfelt words of Colonel Nguyen Dang Chien, Head of the Propaganda Department, Political Department of the Engineer Corps, before saying goodbye: "The pontoon bridges of the soldiers of the 249th Engineer Brigade not only connect the two banks of the Red River, but also extend the banks of joy, contributing to further tightening the close bond between the army and the people, adding to the noble qualities of Uncle Ho's soldiers in the new era. This special feat of the unit is truly worthy of the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces for the third time, which was just awarded by the Party and the State on August 12".

Article and photos: NGUYEN HONG SANG

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/phong-su-dieu-tra/ky-su/lu-doan-cong-binh-249-giu-vung-mach-mau-giao-thong-noi-doi-bo-song-hong-847537