Hàn River bridge (Song Han Bridge, ; occasionally known as Da Nang Opening Bridge) is a

cable-stayed A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern o ...

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravit ...

in downtown

Da Nang Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one of Vietnam's most important p ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. Prior to the construction of the bridge, Da Nang was developed mainly on the west side (left bank) of the Hàn River, and traditional fishing villages and beaches were to the east. Decades after the opening of the bridge, Danang city has developed on both sides of the Han River. The bridge is the first Vietnamese-engineered and Vietnamese-built bridge in the city, the only swing bridge operating in Vietnam, and the first of several 21st-century bridges crossing Danang's Han River and facilitating economic development on both banks. The bridge is lit up brightly at night. After midnight, traffic is stopped from crossing the Song Han Bridge as it swings on its axis to allow shipping traffic to pass along the river. On weekends, the bridge swings open at 11 pm; traffic is stopped at 10:45pm; the rotation process takes about 15 minutes to swing the bridge open.

History

In 1997, when the greater Da Nang city was separated from Quang Nam province and became a centrally controlled municipality, there was only one bridge that crossed the Han River connecting the urban west side with the villages and beaches on the east side. The decision was made to construct a new bridge linking the downtown thoroughfare Le Duan Street with Pham Van Dong Street on the eastern portion. The Song Han Bridge was designed by Vietnamese engineers and financed in part by Vietnamese companies and donors from Da Nang, with a total of 27,409,353,544 VND donated, according to a plaque on the western ramp. The bridge was opened with a grand ceremony on 29 March 2000, to the delight of the people of Da Nang. It marked the beginning of economic development on both banks of the Han River. It symoblizes the city's rise and appears prominently on the city's logo. Emblem of Danang City

The Han River Bridge is the only

operating in Vietnam. Its symmetrical cable-stayed swing span has a total length of and rotates on the rim-bearing circular turntable central pier. The swing span girder and tower structure is made of steel, the 11 fixed side spans are prestressed reinforced concrete, and the bridge deck is reinforced concrete. The bridge remains an important part of Danang's cityscape and economic development.

Bribery and Corruption case

Shortly after the bridge was completed, the contractor, Phạm Minh Thông, was arrested. He was charged and jailed for stealing money from the project and for bribery, but the men who took the bribes were never revealed.(Archived by WebCite® at ) According to

Radio Free Asia Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a news service that publishes online news, information, commentary and broadcasts radio programs for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editorially independent reporting, has the stated mission of pro ...

, the People's Procuracy of Da Nang City concluded in the Document No. 73/KSDT-KT (October, 2000) and Document No. 77/KSDT/KT (November 2000) sent to the

Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam Headed by the Prosecutor General, the Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam () has functions such as acting as the prosecutor before the People's Courts. The Supreme People's Procuracy has local and military subdivisions that include the district, ...

and Phan Diễn (then- Secretary of Communist Party Committee of Danang) that Nguyễn Bá Thanh received

bribe Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...

s from Phạm Minh Thông (4.4

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: * 1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is now the most common sense of the word in all varieties of ...

VND in total) in the construction projects of Hàn River Bridge and North-South Street in

Danang Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the list of cities in Vietnam, fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River (Vietnam), Hàn R ...

. However, the case was eventually dropped. Vietnamese mass media (which, according to

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

and

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

, are all strictly controlled by the government2017 WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX: Vietnam was ranked 175/180
/ref>) were censored and even praised Thanh for his "many contributions" in the development of Da Nang City.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Han River Bridge Road bridges in Vietnam Bridges in Da Nang Swing bridges Cable-stayed bridges in Vietnam Bridges completed in 2000