Four residents of Vinh Son Commune in the central province of Quang Tri have put up VND1.5 billion (USD73,000) to build a pontoon bridge across the Ben Hai River in the Vinh Linh District, facilitating access for thousands of local residents.

The pontoon bridge across Ben Hai River

The pontoon, 110-m long and 2.5-m wide, was completed in April of this year, with part of the pontoon raised 3m above the river to allow boats to pass.

The communes of Vinh Lam, Vinh Thuy and Vinh Son had been cut off by the Ben Hai and Sa Lung rivers, leaving ferries as the only means of transport, said Vinh Son People\'s Committee chairman Nguyen Son.

"Although National Highway No 1A is just on the other side of the river, people had to travel up to 15 kilometres to get there by surface routes," he said. By connecting Vinh Linh and Gio Linh districts and shortening the distance to the provincial seat in the city of Dong Ha, a bridge promised to bring development to these rural areas.

However, the local authorities lacked the budget to build the bridge.

One of the four who decided to put up the needed funds, Tran Xuan Truong, said that he had cherished the idea for a bridge for his hometown and asked other local residents Tran Cong Chuc, Tran Duy Bon and Pham Dung to join him.

Chuc, 42, a buiding materials distributor, said that a bridge crossing the river had been a wish of many residents for years, inspiring him to take part in the project. The three others were all farmers who were willing to mortgage assets to obtain bank financing for the bridge.

"We studied a similar pontoon model in Trieu Phong District and asked for consultation from the provincial transport department to ensure the quality of the work," Chuc said.

Truong said the main purpose of all four investors was to improve transportation in the district and that profit was not their priority. Ferry operators, operating only during the day and in good weather, charged only VND5,000 (USD0.24) for each passage. On the new bridge, motorbikes pay VND4,000 (USD0.19) for each crossing, while bicycles pay VND2,000 (USD0.09) and pedestrians cross for free.

Nguyen Xuan An, 26, of Le Xa hamlet in Vinh Son Commune said that the tolls were reasonable and he could save time crossing on the pontoon. However, he suggested a monthly discount for people who use the bridge daily.