Demolition of the 100-year-old pillars of the old Xom Bong bridge to ensure waterway safety

The old piers of the old Xom Bong bridge built by the French, about 100 years old, next to the new Xom Bong bridge in Nha Trang city (Khanh Hoa) - Photo: PHAN SONG NGAN

The old Xom Bong bridge piers date back to the French colonial period.

The entire old piers of the old Xom Bong bridge in Nha Trang city (Khanh Hoa) will be demolished, including 14 reinforced concrete piers and piers, built during the French colonial period (1925).

In 1968, the Xom Bong bridge was rebuilt by the Republic of Vietnam government with a new bridge moving downstream to Cai River.

After that, Xom Bong bridge went through many repairs and new constructions, but the old bridge piers from the French period continued to exist in parallel with the new bridge upstream.

Over the past few decades, Khanh Hoa Water Supply and Drainage Company has utilized the old Xom Bong bridge pillars as support pillars for the main water pipeline across Cai River to provide domestic water to all residents in the area north of Cai River Nha Trang.

Recently, Khanh Hoa Water Supply and Drainage Joint Stock Company has rebuilt a new water supply pipe, burying the entire water pipeline under the bottom of Cai Nha Trang River.

Recently, the Ministry of Transport invested in the construction of a new Xom Bong bridge, and the entire bridge and the steel pipe Xom Bong bridge piers built in 1968 mentioned above were demolished.

But the Xom Bong bridge piers built during the French period still exist on the newly completed Xom Bong bridge, which has been put into operation since September 2023.

Ensuring safety for 500 ships/day and night

The old Xom Bong bridge piers (from the French period) next to the new Xom Bong bridge piers on Cai River, Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa. Photo taken on the afternoon of April 29, 2024) - Photo: PHAN SONG NGAN

According to the plan to demolish the old bridge piers at Xom Bong bridge, announced by the Department of Transport of Khanh Hoa province, Cai Nha Trang River is a particularly important waterway transport route of Khanh Hoa province.

On Cai River Nha Trang, there are 3 main traffic routes through the Xom Bong bridge area. The traffic volume through this waterway is high, about 500 boats/day and night. Most of the boats and ships passing through Cai River are fishing boats, tourist boats and other means of transport operating continuously 24/24 hours.

On the other hand, the new Xom Bong bridge invested in and built by the Ministry of Transport has just been completed and put into use, with the bridge compartments offset and staggered compared to the old 14 piers and piers of the old Xom Bong bridge that existed on the Cai Nha Trang river waterway.

Therefore, it is necessary to demolish all 14 piers and piers of the old Xom Bong bridge, which have a lifespan of about 100 years since its construction (the piers and piers were built before the bridge was completed) to ensure safe waterway traffic on Cai Nha Trang river through the Xom Bong bridge area.

Divers must cut close to the river bottom the piers and pillars of the old Xom Bong bridge.

According to the plan announced by the Department of Transport of Khanh Hoa province, the demolition of the 14 piers and piers of the old Xom Bong bridge built during the French period will be gradually demolished from the piers in the north (near the Ponagar Tower area) to the south.

The piers and piers on the shore will be broken and removed to a depth of about 2m. The piers on the riverbed will be cut close to the riverbed by divers using equipment, then salvaged and brought to shore by barge.

During the construction process, relevant units have arranged traffic signal buoys from both upstream and downstream of Xom Bong bridge.

The waterway traffic through Xom Bong bridge must be temporarily narrowed to only about 20m (normally the Cai River is about 200m wide) and will be moved according to plan, the construction progress will gradually demolish the above bridge piers.

To ensure traffic safety for ships passing through the area during construction at Xom Bong Bridge, the authorities also arranged ships and boats to be on duty, set up stations to guide, monitor, regulate, and support traffic on Cai Nha Trang River during the demolition of the old bridge piers and piers (expected 30 days, from the start of assembling construction vehicles and equipment until the completion of the project, around the end of May 2024).

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/pha-do-dan-tru-100-tuoi-cau-xom-bong-xua-de-dam-bao-an-toan-duong-thuy-20240429230348536.htm