The reason Hoa Lu stopped the idea of Dutch-style water bridge

TPO - On the morning of June 28, the People's Committee of Hoa Lu City (Ninh Binh Province) held a groundbreaking ceremony for the project to build a bridge across the Trang An River at the intersection of Le Thai To - Trang An Street (Tan Thanh Ward), with a total investment of more than 179 billion VND. The project is built according to the plan of a permanent reinforced concrete bridge, replacing the idea of building a water bridge that had previously attracted attention.

According to the design, the project consists of two parallel bridge units, 11.8m apart; each unit has a cross-section of 16.5m wide. The special highlight is the pedestrian bridge and the observation tower located between the two branches of the bridge, with a cross-section of 7.9m, with a landscape architectural scale of about 163.84m².

3D perspective image of Trang An water bridge.

Previously, at the end of 2023, the People's Committee of Ninh Binh City (now Hoa Lu) proposed a bold idea to build a "water bridge", inspired by the Veluwemeer Water Bridge (Netherlands), at the exact location above. A water bridge is a unique form of transport structure, in which the waterway crosses the road by means of a water trough structure, creating a prominent landscape and tourist highlight.

This proposal was accompanied by a request for support of 130 billion VND from the provincial budget to implement a synchronous technical infrastructure system to serve the project. However, after consideration, the Department of Planning and Investment (now the Department of Finance) and related units reported to the Provincial People's Committee about technical and financial problems and inappropriate construction conditions at the Trang An - Le Thai To intersection area.

Ninh Binh provincial leaders at that time assessed that if it could be realized, the water bridge would be a new symbolic project for Ninh Binh tourism, as tourist boats could glide on the water above, while vehicles circulated below. However, technical difficulties, high construction costs, as well as terrain and geological requirements made this plan unfeasible.

Although many people expressed regret at not being able to realize the idea of a "one-of-a-kind" water bridge, choosing a rigid bridge with a viewing tower combined with a pedestrian bridge is also a solution that balances technical factors, economics and symbolic value, creating a new landscape highlight in the Trang An - Hoa Lu heritage area.

Minh Duc

Source: https://tienphong.vn/ly-do-hoa-lu-dung-y-tuong-cau-nuoc-kieu-ha-lan-post1755457.tpo