LÂM ĐỒNG — The Department of Transport in the Central Highland province of Lâm Đồng reported 200 degraded bridges across the province, threatening the safety of users.

Director of the department, Trương Hữu Hiệp, told Vietnam News Agency that of the degraded bridges, as many as 112 ones were listed as “seriously degraded” and required urgent maintenance.

However, because of funding shortage, only 21 bridges had been fixed, he said. Local residents are worried about using the degraded bridges.

In the last two weeks, three people reportedly fell into Đa Nhim River, leaving one of them dead while crossing Ông Triều Bridge in Thạnh Mỹ Township in Đơn Dương District.

A local resident, Phan Công Thành, said that the bridge has been degraded for a long time and local residents have asked the relevant authorities to look into it but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. He said that now, the need of the hour is for lights and fences to be installed on the bridge to make travelling safer.

Huỳnh Ngọc Sơn, a policeman, said that police have been assigned to help people maneuver their way across the bridge until it was fixed.

Cai Bảng suspending bridge in Bảo Lâm District is on the key road connecting Lộc Thắng Town to Lộc Phú Commune. People have to use the bridge to reach their tea and coffee farms. However, holes have appeared on the bridge surface, cables are rusty and the bridge begins to vibrate every time vehicles use it.

Local authorities have put warning signs there.

In Bảo Lâm District only, at least ten bridges have been reported to be seriously degraded. The problem is bound to get worse for users during harvest time when they have to transport farming products across the bridges.

Nguyễn Đình Gắn, chairman of Lộc Ngãi Commune, Bảo Lâm District, said that the commune’s budget could afford small fixing costs and the commune has been asking for funding from higher levels to build new bridges. — VNS