Investment policy approved for raising navigational clearance of old Dong Nai bridge

The Ministry of Construction has issued a decision approving the investment policy for the Project to increase the navigational clearance of bridges in the Northern and Southern regions.

The project will involve constructing, renovating and raising the navigational clearance of six bridges, including the old Dong Nai bridge on National Highway 1, which crosses the Dong Nai river and connects Dong Nai City with Ho Chi Minh City.

The Ministry of Construction has approved the investment policy for the Project to increase the navigational clearance of bridges in the Northern and Southern regions, including the old Dong Nai bridge. Photo: Pham Tung.

Accordingly, the old Dong Nai bridge will be dismantled, and its entire superstructure will be replaced with prestressed reinforced-concrete spans. The bridge piers will be repaired, reinforced and raised to ensure adequate navigational clearance and structural load-bearing capacity. The existing abutments and piers will be reused where possible, with repairs, reinforcement and height adjustments carried out to meet load-bearing and navigational clearance requirements. Under the plan, the bridge’s vertical navigational clearance will be increased to 7 meters, and the width of the navigable span will exceed 50 meters. The approach roads will retain their existing scale in accordance with the standards for for level III plain roads.

According to the Ministry of Construction, the project aims to upgrade bridges that do not yet meet navigational clearance requirements along national inland waterways in the Southern region, which form part of important transport corridors. This will help ensure consistent inland waterway transport operations along entire routes, align infrastructure with existing channel conditions and the growing demand for waterborne transport, and increase the capacity for cargo transportation by inland waterways. The project will also promote investment in multimodal transport services linking the Mekong Delta and Southeastern regions with Ho Chi Minh City and its seaports, including the international gateway port areas of Cai Mep and Can Gio, as well as ports in Dong Nai and Tay Ninh, and vice versa.

According to the Dong Nai City People’s Committee, the old Dong Nai bridge is an important transport structure along a major corridor connecting the Southeastern region with the Southern key economic region. Built in 1964, the bridge crosses the Dong Nai River and connects Dong Nai City with Ho Chi Minh City. Its current vertical clearance is 5.5 meters, which does not meet the technical standards specified in the approved plan. This limits the capacity of large waterborne vessels and creates potential traffic safety risks.

Recently, Dong Nai has focused on implementing measures to strengthen transport infrastructure connectivity in support of socio-economic development. Developing an inland waterway network connecting the Northern part of the city with the Dong Nai river and seaports has been identified as a key priority. The goals are to increase waterway transport capacity, reduce logistics costs and improve the efficiency of the multimodal transport system.

Studying investment in raising the navigational clearance of the old Dong Nai bridge is necessary to meet the requirements of inland waterway transport development, ensure safe operations and align with Dong Nai City’s transport infrastructure development strategy. The project is also consistent with the inland waterway infrastructure master plan approved by the Prime Minister and the city’s broader transport infrastructure development objectives.

By Pham Tung - Translated by Mai Nga, Thu Ha