Vinh Tuy Bridge, 5.8 kilometers long and 38 meters wide, connects Hai Ba Trung District with the districts of Long Bien and Gia Lam.

National Highway 5 is a major cable through several cities and provinces in the northern region.

Dang Vu Nhat Thang, director of Ta Ngan Project Management, the project’s main investor, said Vinh Tuy could sustain earthquakes measuring up to 8 on the Richter scale. It was built by a team of Vietnamese workers and engineers, using prestressed concrete, Thang said, adding that only local materials were used.

At the bridge’s opening ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said Vinh Tuy marked the growth of Vietnam bridge construction as it was 100 percent locally designed, built and managed. Nearly 1,700 families have handed over their land to the bridge project, which is expected to share the traffic flow through the Chuong Duong and Long Bien bridges.

Work on the bridge was started in February 2005 on a nearly VND3.6 trillion (USD201 million) budget.

Thang said some minor parts of the bridge still under construction would be finished by next June before Hanoi’s 1000th anniversary celebration in October. Vinh Tuy, one of seven bridges to cross the river, is part of a master plan to develop the capital by 2020.