Unique wooden bridge nearly 1 km long across Binh Ba River

This bridge is known to many people first of all because it is nearly a kilometer long and the construction material is only rough wood. The bridge was built by hand by local workers. Ong Cop wooden bridge is also remembered because there were big floods, a section or the whole bridge collapsed, people had to work hard to rebuild it so they could have a road to travel.

Ong Cop Bridge crosses Binh Ba River, connecting An Ninh Tay Commune of Tuy An District with Xuan Dai Ward of Song Cau Town. The bridge is about 800m long and about 2m wide, helping people on both banks of the Ky Lo River tributary to travel every day to work and study.

Thanks to Ong Cop Bridge, residents on both sides of the river in coastal areas do not have to take a long detour of dozens of kilometers to the opposite bank.

The bridge was built quite simply, using eucalyptus, casuarina or bamboo as pillars; acacia trees were cut to make planks for the bridge floor. The structure was small but very long, so a lot of wood was needed.

The bridge was built entirely by hand, by the local people themselves. The wooden materials were collected from many sources, sawn basically, so the bridge floor was a bit bumpy, with gaps; the bridge walls were assembled from many bamboo bars, some curved and some straight.

The first time she crossed Ong Cop Bridge, Ms. Nguyen Thuy Anh (HCMC) sat behind the motorbike driven by her husband but still felt "trembling at the knees". This is also the feeling of many people, because looking down, the bridge surface was full of gaps, the edge of the bridge was precariously nailed with wooden braces, and looking to both sides, it was almost empty.

The first wooden bridge appeared on the river in this area more than 25 years ago. According to the locals, the bridge was not built by locals at first. Later, many locals contributed money to build the bridge, manage it, and collect tolls.

The toll to cross the bridge is only a few thousand dong per trip, depending on whether the vehicle is carrying people or goods. Students are exempted. The price is set by the investing households after reporting to the local authorities for approval.

The bridge tickets cover the construction costs, and bring in a small profit. However, every year when the Binh Ba River floods and the bridge collapses, it is considered a heavy loss. About five times, people have had to rebuild Ong Cop Bridge after it was damaged by floods.

In years of small floods, a section of the bridge collapsed, in years of big floods, the whole bridge was washed away. At the end of 2021, the bridge was washed away by floodwaters, all the wood was dragged down the river and out to sea. At the end of 2022, the bridge was almost completely destroyed by floodwaters.

People here are used to the scene of wooden bridges breaking or disappearing after big floods. The bridge was quickly rebuilt to allow people to travel and do business.

Ong Cop wooden bridge is located in an area with many beautiful places in Phu Yen such as Xuan Dai bay, Ganh Da Dia, O Loan lagoon, Mang Lang church, Tam Giang dam... The bridge itself is also a unique destination.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/doc-la-cay-cau-go-dai-gan-1-km-lam-thu-cong-185240318001429254.htm