New Ghenh rail bridge ready in end-June

09:05, 26/05/2016

A new Ghenh rail bridge spanning the Dong Nai River on the north-south rail line in Bien Hoa City will be up and running at the end of June.

 

The construction site of a new Ghenh rail bridge in Dong Nai Province. The bridge will be opened to traffic at the end of June -
The construction site of a new Ghenh rail bridge in Dong Nai Province. The bridge will be opened to traffic at the end of June -

A new Ghenh rail bridge spanning the Dong Nai River on the north-south rail line in Bien Hoa City will be up and running at the end of June.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said at a meeting on Monday that the three spans would be installed as the last component of a project to re-build the bridge that collapsed after a barge collision in March.

Dong told Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No. 1 (Cienco 1) to stick to the approved construction schedule and make sure all the spans will be in place by June 25 as planned.

Cienco 1 said it has to use a large barge to transport a steel scaffolding to the project site to put the spans in place. The installation of each span takes nine days.

Dong told contractors to work out detailed construction plans to ensure smooth traffic in the river while the bridge is under construction.

Contractors have mobilized large numbers of workers to construct the bridge in three shifts a day without weekend breaks to ensure the bridge could be opened to traffic on schedule.

According to Vietnam Railways Corporation, the opening of the new Ghenh rail bridge will make life easy for the north-south railway operator, which has suffered a daily loss of VND5-10 billion since a sand-transporting barge hit the old Ghenh on March 20. The accident disrupted all train services to and from HCMC.

The railway operator has incurred total losses of VND800 billion (US$35.84 million) due to declining numbers of passengers and rising costs for the purchase of new equipment and coaching passengers between Di An Railway Station in Binh Duong Province and Bien Hoa Railway Station in Dong Nai Province.

Some days later, the Government approved urgent funding of VND298.5 billion for construction of the new rail bridge to replace the wrecked one.

(Source:SGT)