Two options to preserve the 120-year-old iron bridge in Ho Chi Minh City
The Department of Culture and Sports proposes to preserve the overall Binh Loi iron bridge to preserve its historical value, although the cost is higher than the option to restore only two spans.
The content has just been sent by the Department of Culture and Sports to the Department of Transport, to advise the city government to preserve the Binh Loi railway bridge.
Accordingly, option one will repair and restore two bridge spans (cleaning, anti-rust paint, replacing rail pillow bars…) and a watchtower with a cost of nearly 13 billion VND. This helps the work to be repaired in time, but it is difficult to construct, because there are no auxiliary works, it will not protect the work…
The two-bridge option will be fully preserved after being handed over. This way is in accordance with regulations, it is possible to build roads, auxiliary works, budget estimates… After the renovation and restoration, the work also promotes its values.
Binh Loi Bridge (white) before being dismantled, 2018. Photo: Nhu Quynh
The old Binh Loi iron bridge is assessed to have historical and cultural value associated with the formation and development of Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam’s railways. The work currently meets the criteria for relic rating, but a request from the owner is required. Therefore, after the Ministry of Transport hands over to Ho Chi Minh City for management, the overall conservation plans will continue to be advised and proposed by the Department of Culture and Sports.
The old Binh Loi iron bridge crossing the Saigon River, connecting Thu Duc city through Binh Thanh district, put into operation in 1902 – is the first iron bridge across the Saigon River built by a French company. The work is 276 m long with 6 spans, has a steel arch structure, wooden surface and railway tracks running through. To the right of the track near the foot of the bridge in the direction from Thu Thu Duc city to Binh Thanh district, there is a watchtower with the words “Binh Loi Octobre 1948” in Braille on the wall.
After more than 100 years of operation, the bridge is seriously degraded, the height of navigation is limited, affecting the passing boats. In April 2015, Binh Loi railway bridge was newly built and renovated to upgrade the Saigon river channel from Binh Loi bridge to Ben Suc port (Binh Duong). The new bridge was built 12 meters downstream from the old bridge, and has been in operation since 2019. The old iron spans were dismantled, only two spans were kept.
Gia minh
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
