Rantau Panjang–Sungai Golok Bridge (, ), popularly called the "Harmony Bridge" (), is a road bridge crossing

Kolok River The Golok River (, , ; ) is a river that lies on the border between Malaysia and Thailand. The name of the river in Malay means 'river of machete'. The river borders the Malaysian state of Kelantan and the Thai province of Narathiwat. The fr ...

() of the

Malaysia–Thailand border The Malaysia–Thailand border divides the sovereign states of Malaysia and Thailand and consists of a land boundary running for 595 km (370 mi) across the Malay Peninsula and maritime boundaries in the Straits of Malacca and the Gulf of Thail ...

, connecting

Rantau Panjang Rantau Panjang ( Kelantanese: ''Ghata Panjey''; Thai: รันเตาปันจัง) is a ''mukim'' (subdistrict/commune) and also a parliamentary constituency in Pasir Mas District, Kelantan, Malaysia, located next to the Thai border. ...

town in

Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, with Su-ngai Kolok town in

Narathiwat Narathiwat (, ) is a town ( thesaban mueang) in southern Thailand and capital of Narathiwat Province. The town is in the Mueang Narathiwat District and was established in 1936. As of 2008, the population was 40,521. It lies 1,141 km south ...

, Narathiwat Province,

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. It spans to the south of the cross-border

railway bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...

''Harmony-Bridge'' nearby. The bridge is a part of

Asian highway network The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via hig ...

AH18 Asian Highway 18 is a highway route included in Asian Highway Network, running from Hat Yai in Thailand to Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Route AH18 runs along main eastern coastal road in southern Thailand and also along Malaysia Federal Route 3, Federa ...

, including Thailand Route 4056 and Federal Route 3. It was built by the governments of both countries, and was officially opened on 21 May 1973 by both

Malaysian Prime Minister The prime minister of Malaysia (; ) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the prime minister who is a member of Parliament (MP) wh ...

Tun Abdul Razak bin Haji Dato' Hussein Al-Haj and

Thai Prime Minister The prime minister of Thailand (, , ; literally 'chief minister of state') is the head of government of Thailand. The prime minister is also the chair of the cabinet of Thailand. The post has existed since the Siamese Revolution of 1932, when ...

Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn.

Design

The bridge is a

beam bridge Beam bridges are the simplest structural forms for bridge spans supported by an abutment or pier at each end. No moments are transferred throughout the support, hence their structural type is known as '' simply supported''. The simplest beam ...

with box girders. The main part includes three spans, using

prestressed concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially prestressed (Compression (physics), compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-t ...

, with each length of 30.48 metres (100 ft). Each end is connected to a

ferroconcrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having ...

span, with length of 9.14 m (30 ft). It is overall 109.73 m (360 ft) long, with 7.32 m (24 ft) wide road surface and 2.13 m (7 ft) wide

walkway In American English, walkway is a composite or umbrella term for all engineered surfaces or structures which support the use of trails. '' The New Oxford American Dictionary'' also defines a walkway as "a passage or path for walking along, esp. ...

each side.Department of Highways, Thailand

Construction

Construction was done by Chang Loon Construction Co., Ltd., a Malaysian contractor which won the

bidding Bidding is an offer (often competitive) to set a price tag by an individual or business for a product or service ''or'' a demand that something be done. Bidding is used to determine the cost or value of something. Bidding can be performed b ...

-held meanwhile in both countries on 25 September 1970. The

ask price Ask price (also called offer price, offer, selling price, asking price, or simply ask) is the price a seller states they will accept. The seller may qualify the stated asking price as firm or negotiable. Firm means the seller is implying that th ...

was M$630,000 or 4,500,000

baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

. A contract was signed on 16 December 1970. Both governments paid half each. Since the construction was finished on 20 March 1973, after the

deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...

of 15 June 1972, the company had to pay overtime penalty M$200 or 1,400 baht a day, totalling M$36,000 or 252,000 baht.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rantau Panjang-Sungai Golok Bridge Bridges in Kelantan Bridges in Thailand International bridges in Malaysia Malaysia–Thailand border crossings Box girder bridges in Malaysia Beam bridges

Design

Construction

See also

References