Phu My Bridge & East-West Highway

Decided to recce the newest bridge across the Saigon River while waiting for Adel to finish at the hairdresser's. Had been wanting to do this since its opening on 2 Sep 2009, Vietnam's National Day. This cable-stayed bridge is about 2km long and connects Dist 7 to Dist 2. It is the 3rd bridge across the Saigon River. The road leading to the bridge is still under construction (from Dist 7 side). Access to the bridge is via the side roads for now. It is the world's most modern bridge in terms of suspension cable technology, so claims the project co-investor Phu My Bridge Corporation. (Note : If you want to see the bridge, better go now as it'll be open to big vehicles after Dec 09.)

A 4th crossing, the Thu Thiem Tunnel, is still under construction. This 1,490m tunnel will be the longest in SE Asia when completed, with 371m running under the Saigon River. I have already biked on the new East-West Highway that leads to the uncompleted Thu Thiem Tunnel. Originally slated to open in 2007, the highway was finally declared opened on 2 Sep 09 (auspicious date, huh?) and spans 8 districts...well, better late than never. It's a nice piece of work for Vietnamese standard; traffic is light along this stretch (about 14km for now) which is a blessing indeed. It links Binh Tan to Dist 1, passing Binh Chanh, Cho Lon (Dist 5), Dist 6, Dist 8 and Dist 4. Problem is that the bike lane gets flooded in heavy downpours - poor drainage again.






































































The new Phu My bridge is a place for lovers, vendors and sight-seeing - yes, you just park your bike at the side, buy a snack or just "makan angin" and enjoy the view ... until the police comes!!!

Ref : Baovietnam