The longest seaport overpass in the Central region: When will the bridge be completed and open to traffic?

Thuan An Bridge, with a total investment of up to 2,400 billion VND, is the longest sea-crossing bridge in the Central region, has been completed, standing tall at the eastern seaport of Hue City. The bridge is completed but it is not known when it will be open to traffic. Why?

Thuan An Bridge with a total investment of more than 2,400 billion VND is the longest seaport bridge in the Central region - Photo: NHAT LINH

The Thuan An Bridge project was started in 2022 with a total investment of VND 2,400 billion from the central and local budgets. This project is part of the Hue City coastal road project with a total investment of up to VND 3,500 billion, nearly 22km long. Of which, the bridge and the approach road to the bridge are more than 7.7km long.

The "dream" bridge of a hundred years

Up to now, Thuan An bridge is the longest seaport bridge in the Central region with a length of 2.36km, 20m wide, four lanes, and a main span of 23.5m wide.

Thuan An Bridge is a permanent bridge built with reinforced concrete and prestressed reinforced concrete, using a mixed beam and cable structure for the main spans with the longest span of over 200m. To construct the bridge, the contractor drilled many bored piles and then constructed the bridge piers in the middle of the estuary. According to the design, the bridge can handle ships with a load capacity of over 5,000 tons.

After three years of construction, Thuan An Bridge is now basically completed. The concrete road on the bridge surface is paved with flat, clean asphalt, the railing system and traffic markings are basically completed. Thuan An Bridge stands out with two giant A-shaped cable-stayed structures, creating a highlight for the bridge from afar at the estuary.

The bridge has not been put into use yet because the approach road to the bridge has not been completed. Currently, the approach road to the bridge in Thai Duong Ha village has been completed. People living in the surrounding area often ride motorbikes and bicycles to the bridge every evening to watch the sunset and the beautiful scenery of the ocean.

Mr. Le Chay (residing in Thuan An ward) said that this is the dream bridge of him and hundreds of households living on both sides of the estuary for hundreds of years. Since the bridge was completed, Mr. Lac rides his motorbike up to the bridge every day to enjoy the cool breeze, take photos, record videos and send them to friends and relatives far away to enjoy.

For hundreds of years, people on both sides of the bridge had to take a ferry across the estuary to visit relatives. Since the Tam Giang Bridge (a few kilometers away) was built, villagers can travel by road more easily, but the distance is still longer than 10 kilometers, even though the two villages are only about 1 kilometer apart.

"I was born in Thai Duong Ha village, but I got married, had children, and lived in Thai Duong Thuong village. Every time I returned to the village to celebrate ancestral deaths or visit relatives, it was extremely difficult because of the distance, especially on days of heavy rain and strong winds. The dream of having a bridge connecting the two villages is something our people have long awaited," said Mr. Chay.

Late due to lack of resettlement land

Thuan An Bridge has been built but more than 1.1km of road leading to the south of the bridge cannot be constructed due to land clearance problems - Photo: NHAT LINH

Although the construction of Thuan An Bridge has basically been completed and the bridge was scheduled to be technically opened to traffic on September 2, it was delayed. The reason is that the road leading to the bridge in the south has not been completed due to land acquisition problems. And the root cause is that there is no resettlement land for the affected households here.

It is known that to build the approach road to the bridge in the south, about 121,000m2 ^of land must be reclaimed, affecting 4.1ha of protective forest land, 300 built graves and houses and structures of about 229 households. Currently, the approach road to the north of the bridge (in the old Hai Duong commune) has basically been compensated, cleared and is being completed.

In the south of the bridge (in the old Thuan An ward), there is still about 1.1km of road that cannot be cleared and handed over to the construction unit. This is the reason why the longest overpass in the Central region cannot be opened to traffic.

Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong, Deputy Director of the Hue City Traffic Construction Project Management Board, said that more than 40 households in the south of the bridge are ready to hand over their land for construction. However, the biggest problem at present is that they have not been able to arrange resettlement land for the households, so they have not been able to hand over their land for the construction of the approach road.

"We are waiting for the city to adjust the policy of expanding the resettlement area in Thuan An ward. Only then will there be enough land area to compensate and resettle people affected by the project, then they will agree to hand over the land to build the road leading to the bridge," said Mr. Cuong.

According to Mr. Cuong, the authorities are currently working hard to obtain resettlement land to hand over to the people. Once the site is cleared, the remaining 1.1km of access road will continue to be constructed.

According to Mr. Le Chay, the ancient Nguyen Dynasty history books recorded that hundreds of years ago, this estuary was a connected strip of land. On that strip of land was an ancient village named Thai Duong. In 1904, a great flood came. Water from upstream tore the village in two. Since then, Thai Duong village has been divided into two villages, Thai Duong Thuong and Thai Duong Ha, as they are today.

Thuan An Bridge is a special traffic project in Hue City with the expectation of connecting smoothly with the national coastal road system, contributing to promoting socio -economic development, forming a coastal and lagoon tourism route Tam Giang - Cau Hai. Thereby creating conditions for the development of coastal urban areas, improving the lives of people in coastal communes and the entire city.

NHAT LINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cau-vuot-cua-bien-dai-nhat-mien-trung-cau-xay-xong-bao-gio-thong-xe-2025101208531342.htm