The Ho Chi Minh City Transport Department has put plans in place to replace the 112-year-old Bình Lợi Railway Bridge on Phạm Văn Đồng Street, which links Bình Thạnh and Thủ Đức Districts, reports Tuoi Tre.
Bình Lợi Railway Bridge in 1906.
According to historian Tim Doling, the bridge was completed in 1902 as part of the initial phase of the Saigon-Nha Trang railway line by the Société de construction de Levallois-Perret. This was the company formed in 1893 out of the former Maison Eiffel, after Gustave Eiffel himself had retired in disgrace having been implicated in a financial scandal surrounding the first Panama Canal project.
Another early photo of the Bình Lợi Railway Bridge.
The bridge has seriously deteriorated over the years, and several spans have been replaced after suffering damage from bombs during the American War.
The new, 521.2 meter, $47 million bridge is expected to break ground this month and completed by December 2015.
