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Saigon Bridge Cầu Sài Gòn | |
|---|---|
 Saigon Bridge and the nearby skyscraperLandmark 81 | |
| Coordinates | 10°47′56″N106°43′38″E / 10.79889°N 106.72722°E /10.79889; 106.72722 |
| Crosses | Saigon River |
| Locale | Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam |
| Other name | Newport Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Concrete |
| Total length | 1,010 metres (3,310 ft) |
| Width | 26 metres (85 ft) |
| History | |
| Designer | Drake and Piper Johnson |
| Opened | June 28, 1961 |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Saigon Bridge | |
Saigon Bridge, also known asNewport Bridge (Cầu Tân Cảng) before 1975, is abridge crossing theSaigon River, connectingBình Thạnh District andDistrict 2,Ho Chi Minh City now isThủ Đức, on theHanoi Highway. The bridge has four lanes for cars and two lanes for motorcycles and bicycles. It was the only bridge linkingDistrict 1 to the newThu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2 until the inauguration ofThủ Thiêm Bridge in 2008 and theSaigon River Tunnel in 2011. The bridge is one of the eastern gateway of the city and was also one of the most vital gateways for vehicles traveling fromnorthern andcentral Vietnam to the city, and therefore was a key point of contention during theTet Offensive in 1968 and theFall of Saigon in 1975. In 2013, a new parallel bridge, Saigon 2 Bridge, was inaugurated to ease congestion on the bridge.[1]
On 5 May 1968 during theMay or "mini-Tet" Offensive, a 300-manVietcong (VC) regiment attacked the bridge and the adjacent Newport dock facility but were driven off byArmy of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces.[2] On the morning of 12 May VC gunners from the 4th Thu Duc Battalion scored a direct hit on the bridge with a recoilless rifle, sending a chunk of steel-reinforced concrete almost sixty meters long and half the width of the bridge crashing into the river. For the Allies, the damage inflicted on the bridge proved to be little more than an inconvenience. The temporary loss of one lane did not seriously impede traffic, and over the next four weeks engineers repaired the otherwise intact bridge.[3]
By 28 April 1975 as thePeople's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) continued theiradvance on Saigon, the Vietcong seized theThảo Điền area at the eastern end of the bridge and attempted to seize the bridge but were repulsed by the ARVN12th Airborne Battalion.[4] On the morning of 30 April PAVN sappers attempted to seize the bridge but were repulsed by the ARVN Airborne. At 09:00 the PAVN tank column approached the bridge and came under fire from ARVN tanks which destroyed the leadT-54, killing the PAVN Battalion commander. The ARVN and PAVN continued to exchange tank and artillery fire until 10:24, when the ARVN commander received PresidentDương Văn Minh's capitulation order over the radio. While the bridge was rigged with approximately 4000lbs of demolition charges, the ARVN stood down and at 10:30 the PAVN column crossed the bridge.[5]
Saigon 2 Bridge (Cầu Sài Gòn 2) is abridge crossing theSaigon River, connectingBình Thạnh District andDistrict 2, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on theHanoi Highway. It is parallel to the Saigon Bridge, being 3 metres south of it and carrying traffic in the eastern direction. Congestion on the old Saigon Bridge required increased traffic capacity, with the new bridge doubling the number of lanes, carrying another 4 lanes plus a 2 lanes for motorbikes. The cost of the bridge was 1,259,000,000,000 Vietnamese đồng.[6] Construction started in April 2012, and the bridge was opened for traffic in October 2013.[7]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.