Directive No. 09/1999/CT-TTg on inspecting and ensuring the safety of bridges currently in use on national routes throughout the country.

DIRECTIVE

On inspecting and ensuring the safety of bridges currently in use 

on national road routes

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Currently, many old bridges under the management of central and local authorities (including both roads and railways) have deteriorated; some were built during the French colonial period, others during the war against the United States, and the rest were constructed at the beginning of the reunification period with small scale and low load capacity. The load and traffic volume passing through the bridge system are increasing rapidly in line with the pace of economic and social development of the country.

Recently, due to deficiencies in the management, inspection, operation, and use of the bridge system, maintenance and repair work have not been given adequate attention, leading to several serious bridge collapse incidents such as the collapse of the Binh Dien Bridge and Dakrong Bridge... In 1999, there has been a trend towards an increase in such incidents.

To protect the lives of the people, state assets, and ensure smooth transportation, the Prime Minister issues the following directive:

1. The Ministry of Transport and People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities need to immediately carry out the following tasks:

- Conduct an urgent inspection and statistical analysis of weak bridges within their jurisdiction and categorize them as follows (specifying location, scale on the route, importance for transportation, and technical condition of the project):

a) Those that must be replaced immediately.

b) Those that require immediate repair and reinforcement to continue safe operation despite limited capacity and need to be rebuilt in the near future.

c) Those that will require repair, reinforcement, and replacement from 2000 to 2005.

After completing the inspection, statistical analysis, and classification of the bridges, an emergency repair plan for severely damaged bridges must be established immediately. If funds cannot be balanced immediately, the transport sector and localities must temporarily use other sources of funding without allowing bridge collapses due to lack of funds. If further collapses occur, the primary responsibility lies with the transport sector and directly managing localities.

Along with the statistics, provide an estimate of the investment costs required for replacement, reinforcement, and repair to prepare a preliminary budget for fund allocation before specific projects can be formulated. For bridges under categories a and b mentioned above, the Ministry of Transport and People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities should immediately arrange and implement replacement, repair, or reinforcement work.

- Implement measures to strengthen management to prevent bridge collapse incidents and establish a regular system for ensuring bridge safety:

+ Implement necessary traffic organization measures such as rerouting, reducing loads, setting up warning signs, strictly patrolling, and having contingency plans for traffic assurance in emergencies.

+ Develop a plan for periodic inspection, testing, regular maintenance, and repair, and strictly enforce these plans.

+ The Ministry of Transport needs to review and supplement regulations on managing operational transportation infrastructure, particularly bridges. Organize guidance and inspections of localities in implementing these regulations as well as plans for periodic inspection, testing, regular maintenance, and repair of bridges by localities.

2. The Ministry of Transport shall compile and review to report to the Government in April 1999 on the results of the inspection, statistical analysis, classification, and handling plans for weak bridges across the entire transport sector.

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance, based on the comprehensive report of the Ministry of Transport, shall allocate additional funds to meet the investment requirements for repair and replacement in 1999; simultaneously, they shall balance and allocate appropriate funds according to the requirements from 2000 onwards.