ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າ ກະບໍ່ຮູ້ວ່າ ເວລານີ້ (as of July 3rd, 2015) ເພີ່ນສ້ອມແປງ ແລ້ວຫຼືບໍ່ ???
Xayaboury-Luang Prabang bridge set for resurfacing
Officials are preparing to resurface a Mekong Bridge which links the northern provinces of Luang Prabang and Xayaboury after the surface layer of the bridge cracked up, senior government officials have said.
Pictures on social media showed some points of the surface layer have broken up following the official opening of the bridge that took place in October 2013.
However the broken layer has no impact on the main structure of the bridge, the former project director of bridge construction toldVientiane Times yesterday.
“The bridge remains at full capacity and able to accommodate trucks carrying 200 tonnes in total weight across the bridge,” he said.
“We have regularly inspected the bridge. It can accommodate transportation and commutation as normal.”
Explaining the reason behind the premature breakup of the surface layer, the former project Diretor said asphalt concrete, which is durable and commonly used to surface bridges, was unavailable in the area at that time.
Therefore, engineers instead used high-performance concrete, a solid material which fractures more easily,to surface the bridge.
According to the original design, the bridge surface should have been asphalt concrete but asphalt concrete manufacturing plants could not provide material at the project site as the plants were located in Vientiane or Thailand, which were too far from the bridge site.
Asphalt concrete is supposed to be used within two hours after the material is taken from the plant, the former director said.
“Transporting the asphalt concrete from the then existing plants to the construction site would have taken longer than two hours. The quality of asphalt concrete will degrade if it is not used within two hours after it leaves the batching plant,” he explained.
Officials in charge of the maintenance of national roads for the four northern provinces – Huaphan, Xieng Khuang, Luang Prabang and Xayaboury - are carrying out a survey and drawing up a plan to resurface the bridge.
One of the officials, who asked not to be named, said asphalt concrete is now expected to be available in Xayaboury province as a private-run manufacturing plant is being operated there.
He stated that his team is surveying and drawing up a resurfacing plan to propose to higher authorities.
The official reiterated that the broken layer has no impact on the main structure of the bridge, saying the layer is only between three to five centimetres thick.
It was reported previously that the bridge was built at a cost of more than 76 million kip (US$ 9.5 million), financed by a low interest loan from the Exim Bank of the Republic of Korea.
The bridge, which is 10 .50 metres wide and 620 metres long, connects Pakkhone village in Nan district, Luang Prabang province, with Thadeua village in Xayaboury district, Xayaboury province.