Bridge beams installed on railway’s two Mekong River crossings

All beams of the two bridges crossing the Mekong River in northern Luang Prabang province have been installed as part of the Laos-China Railway construction project.
One of the bridges crosses the Mekong at Ladhan village near the border with Oudomxay province then passes through the mountains for 47 kilometres before connecting with another bridge that crosses the river between Phonxay and Sanok villages that will link to Luang Prabang city.
Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday that the task of beam setting on both cross-Mekong River bridges along the megaproject, undertaken by China Railway No. 8 Engineering Group (CREC-8), had been successfully completed.

The bridge in Ladhan village, 1,652 metres in length, has 45 spans connecting two platforms and 44 pylons. Many of the pylons, with the highest up to 57.5 metres, are located in the Mekong River.
The China-Laos Railway crosses the Mekong River twice with passenger trains to travel at around 160 km per hour with freight making its way past at 120 km per hour. Construction of the bridges is continuing seven days a week.
Last year in April, Vientiane Times visited the bridge construction site that crosses the river between Phonxay and Sanok in Luang Prabang. Construction workers also briefed visiting media about progress on the other bridge at Ladhan village.
At the end of next year, Lao-Chinese trains will emerge from a tunnel, cross the Mekong River railway bridge in Luang Prabang and then quickly disappear inside another mountain.
The Laos-China Railway is a strategic docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos’ strategy to convert from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub. The over 400-km railway, with 198 km of tunnels and 62 km of bridges, will run from Boten border gate in northern Laos, bordering China, to Vientiane.
Trains will run from Vientiane to the Boten-Mohan border crossing between Laos and China, through the four provinces of Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Oudomxay and Luang Namtha. The railway is scheduled for completion at the end of 2021 and will be the first rail route linking Laos to China’s network.
The Belt and Road Initiative dates back to 2013 when President Xi visited Kazakhstan. During his visit, he called for countries in the region to work together to create the Silk Road Economic Belt

By Khonesavanh Latsaphao
(Latest Update July 21, 2020)