Kien Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge with a harp system.[1] The length of the bridge is 1,186 m (3,891 ft), with its span
200 m (660 ft) long.[1] It is a key link on Vietnam's National Route 10 by providing a path across the Cấm River in Haiphong, which ultimately helps travelers more easily navigate through the Red River Delta.[2]
Construction
Before the opening of the Kien Bridge, going between the river banks required travel by either boat or ferry.[2]
Construction began in 2001 as a joint venture between a Japanese and Vietnamese company. The building process required a diverse range of methods to address the complicated geology of the riverbed in the area.[2] This included the installation of a nearly 100 m (330 ft) crane tower as well as using the cantilever method.[2] During construction, the crane mounted 110 box girder blocks weighing 14,300 tons.[2] As a cable-stayed bridge, construction required the tensioning of 375 tons of prestressed cable to make up the 36 pairs.[2] Overall, it was estimated that the building of the Kien bridge required 5,000m³ of reinforced concrete and 6,910 tons of steel.[3]
Operation
The bridge's inauguration took place on September 28, 2003. The bridge connected Haiphong City of Quang Ninh Province with the Northeast and North Central regions of Vietnam, creating a road between the two communes An Hong and Kien Bai Haiphong. It quickly became a popular route as industrial development in the region led to a regular flow of tractor-trailers using the bridge.[4] Its lack of maintenance gradually led to the degradation of the road's surface.[5] In 2014, the news outlet Thanh Nien described the potholes as "a Matrix of Elephant Nests" and reported serious, sometimes fatal, traffic accidents occurring due to road's deterioration.[5] There were further reports of warped railings and damaged expansion joints.[5] In 2021, officials approved extensive repairs of the roads of National Highway 10, including the road between Da Bac Bridge and Kien Bridge.[6]
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