28 April
With the positive intention of ensuring fast commodity flow and commuter traffic in Rakhine State, the western part of the country, the government is not only upgrading but also newly building essential facilities such as roads and bridges linking regions with states, townships, towns, and roads and bridges spanning villages.
The four major bridges namely Hset Yoekya Creek Bridge, Kyetsin River Crossing Bridge, Teinnyo Bridge and Darlet Creek Bridge contributing toward smooth and secure flow of commodities and commuter traffic in Rakhine State have been already commissioned into service.
With regard to these bridges, U Khin Maung Myint, the director of Rakhine State Road Department, said, “The construction of Hset Yoekya Creek Bridge began in December in 2016 with the funds of Rakhine State Governemnt and it was terminated in February in 2019. It was built across Hset Yoekya Creek. It links Lanmadaw Ward in Sittwe with Hset Yoekya village in Shwemingan on other side. It is 1,642 feet long. It is a reinforced concrete type. There are a 240-foot-long main steel beam room, eleven 100-foot-long rooms and ten 30-foot-long rooms on the bridge.
“The lower structure of the bridge is a reinforced concrete type. Its foundation is a type of reinforced concrete bole pile. Hset Yoekya Creek is just 200 feet wide. There is navigation traffic in the creek. There is also a traffic light on the side of Sittwe. The bridge has to be considered to be free from the ships sailing in the creek and the traffic light on the side of Sittwe. Therefore, the clearance height is 11 meters. Due to these reasons, the length of the bridge becomes 1,642. Slowdowns are needed to reduce the speed of the car near the traffic light.”
Hset Yoekya Creek Bridge links Lanmadaw Ward in Sittwe with Hset Yoekya village in Shwemingan on other side. Therefore, a great number of new land plots can be extended in Sittwe, Hset Yoekya and Shwemingan. There is a jetty in Shwemingan. There is also a plan to build a new highway bus terminal. Commodities can be easily transported to Sittwe via Shwemingan jetty. Local people can easily go to Sittwe crossing Hset Yoekya Creek Bridge through the highway bus terminal. It is an advantage of Hset Yoekya Bridge. Local people from Sittwe can go to the highway bus terminal in an easy manner. The bridge contributes much toward flow of commodity and commuter traffic in Rakhine State, said U Khin Maung Myint.
A 1,642-foot-long Hset Yoekya Bridge linking Lanmadaw Ward in Sittwe with Hset Yoekya village in Shwemingan on other side was built at a cost of Ks 8,823 million. The people and the vehicles are now using the newly-built bridge on which they can be seen crossing. New businesses will florish around this area as trading activities can be carried out in a short time. Trade will enormously increase because commodities can be transported to Sittwe through Shwemingan jetty. For these reasons, it is a bridge capable of contributing much toward trading activities of Rakhine State.
Similarly, a 1,920-foot-long Kyetsin River Crossing Bridge linking Myaybon with Minpyar Townships was built at a cost of Ks 11,324.487 million. Now the local people and the vehicles are crossing the newly-built bridge.
It is a major bridge for Myaybon. Myaybon previouly had to rely on water transportation and the town had a difficult access to transport. Now it is easy for Myaybon residents to move from one place to another without difficulty. The construction of the bridge began in 2014 and it was over in February, 2019. It is 1,920 feet in length and it was built with the combination of Union funds and Rakhine State funds. It was built spanning Kyetsin River. Myaybon will rapidly develop from a town of difficult access to transport to a town of thriving business center, said U Khin Maung Myint.
Likewise, located at mile post numbers between 26/7 and 27/0 on Minbu-An-Sittwe road section in An Township, Kyaukphyu District, a 960-foot-long Darlet Creek Bridge was constructed at a cost of Ks 7,070.00 million of Union funds. It is situated on Union Road and also a very important bridge. The construction of the bridge was initiated in 2016 and ended on January 30 in 2019.
The bridge was previously a bailey bridge and it was narrow in width. Vehicles had to wait in a line to cross the bridge. Now the bridge has turned into the concrete one with a two-lane concrete road. It is unnecessary for the people, the visitors and the commodities to wait in a queue. It can save much time. The bridge can bear 75 tons of commodities.
In the same way, situated at the place between the mile posts 120/3 and 120/4 on Minbu-An-Sittwe-Union Road in MraukU Township, MraukU District, a 360-foot-long Teinnyo Bridge was built at a cost of Ks 2,280 million. The bridge is very useful to local people and for vehicles.
The bridge is located on Minbu-An-Sittwe-Union Road and its constrcution was initiated in 2017 and ended in December in 2018. It is of vital importance as it is a part of Union Road. The bridge was previously made of RPT steel beam and it was a one-way bridge. The vehicles had to wait in a queue to cross the bridge. It can withstand 16 tons of commodities. The bridge is now a differet matter. It is a reinforced concerte type on which two cars can drive in the opposite direction at the same time. Local people can travel crossing the bridge any time for the time being, U Khin Maung Myint said.
The Road Department is upgrading existing roads and bridges and also building new ones where necessary in Rakhnine State. The roads in Sittwe, Ponnakyun and Yathedaung are now being upgraded to concrete ones. Also in Maungtaw, four roads are under construction to cross over MayU mountain.
Furthermore, extensive measures of tarmacked roads and concrete ones are being taken on Minbu-An-Sittwe road and inner roads in Rakhine State are being upgraded.
The Road Department is maintaining existing roads and bridges to keep them in a good condition by checking and repairing them regularly apart from the roads and bridges that are under construction. Only if the local people using roads and bridges join hands with the Road Department in maintenance work on a regular basis, can they last longer in the future. Tanslated by Htut Htut (Twantay)
