Foundation work of Thanlwin Bridge (Takaw) in Kunhing completed

The Department of Bridge of the Ministry of Construction is carrying out the construction of Thanlwin Bridge (Takaw) on the Meiktila-Taunggyi-Kengtung-Tachilek road, in Kunhing Township, Loilem District, Shan State (South) and now the foundation work has been completed.
The construction of the new bridge’s substructure is scheduled to be completed by the end of April 2022, according to Deputy Director U Thant Zin who is in charge of the bridge construction project, which is estimated to cost K26,350 million.
The bridge will be 351 metres long (1,151.631 feet), 39.4 feet wide (27 feet and 10 inches wide for carriageway, 5 feet and 9 inches wide for a sidewalk on each side) with a load capacity of 75 tonnes, and is made of a steel truss with reinforced concrete floor.
The new Thanlwin River-Crossing Bridge, Thanlwin Bridge (Takaw), is being built about 70 feet apart from the old Thanlwin Bridge (Takaw) which was built in 1965 by Chinese and Myanmar engineers to mark the Myanmar-China Friendship. The construction took 9 years from 1965 to 1974.
The 780-foot-long old bridge is mainly connected with Shan State (South) and Shan State (East) on Meiktila-Taunggyi-Kengtung-Tachilek Road, which is vital to access to Laos, Thailand and China through Kengtung and Tachilek from the central part of Myanmar. As the road is being used to transport goods, the Ministry of Construction has upgraded the bridges on the road to a load capacity of 60 tonnes. The new Thanlwin Bridge (Takaw) project was launched since April 2018, as the load capacity of the 45-year-old bridge has been reduced to 24 tonnes due to its deterioration.
The new bridge is expected to be completed by the end of September 2023, and the Meiktila-Taunggyi-Kengtung-Tachilek road will also be a key road for the country’s market economy as export-import products will be transported through the road and the bridge. – Pwint Thitsar/GNLM