Where Phong Chau Bridge collapsed 1 year ago: The new appearance is incredibly majestic

A year ago, Phong Chau Bridge, a vital bridge on Highway 32C, suddenly collapsed, sweeping away the T7 pillar and two main spans. The incident shocked and saddened people across the country, especially the relatives of the eight victims who died or went missing. In particular, the collapse of Phong Chau Bridge paralyzed traffic on Highway 32C, connecting the Northwest region.

The cause of the incident was determined by Phu Tho province authorities to be due to the impact of storm No. 3 (Yagi), the water level on the Red River rose, causing the bridge to collapse.

The Phong Chau bridge collapse incident occurred on September 9, 2024. Photo: Duc Hoang

Immediately after the Phong Chau bridge collapse, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc was present at the scene to direct the inspection and immediate implementation of work to overcome the collapse of the Phong Chau bridge span, focusing on rescue work for the victims of the bridge collapse.

At the same time, on the morning of September 10, 2024, Brigade 249, the Engineer Corps sent 200 officers and soldiers with equipment to build a pontoon bridge to temporarily serve the travel of people on both banks of the Red River. However, due to hydrological and weather conditions, the bridge construction work could not be implemented immediately. After 20 days when the conditions were guaranteed, on September 29, the pontoon bridge was completed and put into operation.

On September 10, 2024, pontoon bridge equipment was moved by Brigade 249, Engineering Corps to Huong Non commune, Tam Nong district (old). Photo: Duc Hoang

Colonel Nguyen Dang Chien, Head of the Propaganda Department, Engineering Corps, said that in nearly a year, the pontoon bridge has served about 15,000 people and vehicles every day. It is estimated that the total number of cars, motorbikes, non-motorized vehicles and people crossing the river is about 3 million, ensuring safety.

"This is an important mission of Brigade 249 in particular and the Engineering Corps in general to connect the river and strengthen the relationship between the army and the people," Colonel Nguyen Dang Chien shared.

In the 50 days following the bridge collapse, many rescue forces, including the frogmen of the 126th Naval Special Forces Brigade, the Navy, were sent to the Phong Chau bridge area to participate in search and rescue. On October 29, 2024, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Phu Tho province agreed to the proposal to end the search for missing victims after the Phong Chau bridge collapse.

The four victims who have not been found include: Nguyen Thi Lan (19 years old), Nguyen Ha Chi (19 years old), Nguyen Thi Bich Hang (36 years old) and Nguyen Thi Yen (45 years old).

In addition, the authorities have also salvaged the collapsed bridge span and dismantled the remaining part of Phong Chau Bridge after the incident. Currently, Phu Tho province is carrying out the procedure of auctioning the old Phong Chau Bridge steel truss span after the salvage with a total weight of about 675 tons.

675 tons of steel from the old Phong Chau bridge were salvaged and are undergoing auction procedures according to regulations. Photo: Duc Hoang

The new Phong Chau Bridge is about to come into operation.

Faced with urgent requests to resume traffic on National Highway 32C, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has agreed to invest in the construction of a new Phong Chau bridge according to regulations on emergency construction.

On December 21, 2024, at Phung Nguyen commune, the Ministry of Transport (old) held a ceremony to launch the construction of the new Phong Chau bridge - National Highway 32C investment project.

The new Phong Chau Bridge is approximately 652.88m long and is permanently constructed with reinforced concrete and prestressed reinforced concrete with a bridge width of 20.5m, suitable for the roadbed width. The total investment of the project is over 635 billion VND, with the Thang Long Project Management Board assigned as the investor and the 12th Army Corps as the contractor. The new bridge is expected to be completed after 365 days of construction.

The new Phong Chau bridge project is entering the final stages of completion. Photo: Duc Hoang

However, with the goal of completing the project as soon as possible to serve the travel needs of the people and develop the local socio-economy, with many technical solutions and the efforts of the cadres, engineers and workers working in 3 shifts and 4 shifts without days off at the Phong Chau bridge construction site, recently on August 27, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of National Defense and Phu Tho province held a ceremony to close the new Phong Chau bridge.

Up to now, the new Phong Chau bridge has entered the final stage of completion, expected to officially come into operation in October, more than 2 months ahead of schedule.

After the closing time, workers are constructing the bridge railings. Photo: Duc Hoang

Lieutenant Colonel Tran Dang Tuan, Site Commander, said that to speed up the progress, right after starting the construction of the new Phong Chau bridge, taking advantage of favorable weather, the contractor focused on increasing modern machinery and equipment along with construction workers working in 3 shifts and 4 shifts throughout Tet. Currently, the main items have been completed, the construction unit continues to deploy the remaining items such as installing railing systems, lighting systems, decorating and paving asphalt concrete, reinforcing river embankments, and installing traffic safety systems.

"The entire construction site has overcome difficulties, especially weather conditions, to speed up the progress by 2.5 - 3 months, but the quality of the project is still put first and is the contractor's number 1 priority," said Lieutenant Colonel Tran Dang Tuan.

After the bridge collapse that left many losses, the newly completed Phong Chau bridge not only cleared the vital route but also became a symbol of revival, belief and development aspirations of people on both banks of the Red River.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/noi-cau-phong-chau-sap-1-nam-truoc-dien-mao-moi-sung-sung-den-kho-tin-2440954.html