Construction crews are stepping up work on the Song Chanh bridge, a key transportation link connecting wards on Ha Nam island with Quang Yen ward, as project managers and contractors push to complete the bridge ahead of schedule.
Infrastructure investment is among Quang Ninh city's key development priorities, aimed at improving connectivity and supporting long-term economic growth.
The new bridge is being built on the site of the old Song Chanh bridge, connecting Quang Yen and Phong Coc wards. The project, designed to accommodate six lanes of motor vehicle traffic, has a total investment of nearly 800 billion Vietnamese dong.
The bridge will stretch 488 meters (1,601 feet) and consist of two parallel structures ranging from 13.75 to 19 meters wide. It will have 10 spans, including a main arch span of nearly 100 meters, with navigation clearance meeting Vietnam's Class II inland waterway standards. Approach roads at both ends will total nearly 400 meters.
Contractors have increased manpower and equipment to make up for delays caused by heavy rainfall in recent months.
They have added another beam-casting production line beyond the original construction plan and deployed an additional crew to dismantle the old bridge. More workers have also been assigned to conduct geotechnical testing to help finalize design adjustments and construction methods suited to the area's complex geological conditions.
To Viet Thuong, construction site manager for Dat Phuong Group Joint Stock Co., the contractor responsible for the Ha Nam Island side of the project, said dismantling a balanced-cantilever bridge such as Song Chanh was an unprecedented undertaking in Vietnam.
He said crews must remove the old bridge in carefully controlled stages and comply with approved work schedules to ensure safety and meet technical requirements.
The most challenging task, cutting and removing the old bridge's main span, has now been completed, clearing a major obstacle to drilling bored piles for the new structure, Thuong said.
Construction officially began in April 2026. Crews have since dismantled all 13 spans of the old bridge deck and four of its 12 piers.
Meanwhile, work on the replacement bridge has progressed, with contractors completing two bridge abutments and retaining walls along the approach roads at both ends. They have also drilled 74 of the 138 planned bored piles.
As part of a citywide 90-day campaign to accelerate construction and meet development targets for 2026, the project owner and contractors have revised their construction schedules.
Under the revised approach, crews begin work on new bridge components as soon as the corresponding sections of the old structure are removed. The goal is to exceed construction targets and accelerate the disbursement of public investment funds allocated for 2026.
Vu Dinh Dong, deputy head of the Civil and Industrial Projects Division at the Region II Construction Investment Project Management Board, said the project owner and contractors have drawn up a plan to finish construction by November 2027, more than a month ahead of the original schedule.
The project management team has assigned additional supervisors to help resolve problems directly at the construction site in order to meet that target.
Contractors must complete the demolition of the old bridge by November, Dong said. Crews drilling bored piles will work additional evening shifts, while more workers will be deployed to build bridge piers.
The contractors also plan to install beams as soon as individual sections are ready, freeing up space in the beam-casting yard for subsequent production.
The Song Chanh bridge is one of the main transportation links between wards on Ha Nam Island and Quang Yen Ward.
Once completed, the new bridge is expected to improve transportation connectivity and become an architectural landmark in the central area of the Quang Yen Coastal Economic Zone.
