Suspension bridge collapses into Prachin Buri River

[webfact]

Suspension bridge collapses into Prachin Buri River
Manit Sanabboon
The Nation, Prachin Buri



PRACHIN BURI: -- A temporary pedestrian bridge across the Prachin Buri River collapsed on Saturday night when hit by rushing torrents of water.

Fortunately, there was no report of casualties. Normally, more than 300 people - many of them children - cross this suspension bridge each day.

However, the bridge was closed earlier in the day as a precaution while heavy downpours continued and the volume of run-off water clearly increased in the river. There was also a huge amount of water hyacinth washed along by the torrent of water.

The suspended bridge was installed to link the Marawittaya School to study centres while a permanent bridge is built.

A worker at the construction site, Apichart Saengkhiao, said yesterday he had heard Eucalyptus poles breaking in the middle of the night. "I got up to check what happened and I saw the middle part of the bridge was broken and plunged into the river," he said.

Prachin Buri Governor Chitra Promchutima said she ordered the immediate closure of another temporary suspension bridge across the river pending an inspection and repairs.


-- The Nation 2013-06-17

[David48]

I'm sure that the temporary bridge was under-engineered and a minimum amount of money spent while the new bridge was being built but ...

But ... the positive take out for me was the combined fact that someone had "the bridge was closed earlier in the day as a precaution"

AND that "Prachin Buri Governor Chitra Promchutima said she ordered the immediate closure of another temporary suspension bridge across the river pending an inspection and repairs."

Not often do you read here, examples of people who have either the foresight or the planning to do those two actions above.

.

[Payboy]

Prachinburi for Expo 2020.

[Pond Life]

That was not a suspension bridge, pathetic reporting.

[monkey4u]

That was not a suspension bridge, pathetic reporting.

It was suspended by water

[Mampara]

One would have thought that logically after the after the collapse of the last bridge a few months ago, the authorities would have sent engineers to inspect all the suspension bridges in the country? This is typical of the way we think, wait for something to happen, then do something about it. I think that the words" preventative maintenance" isn't in our vocabulary yet.

Possibly the next one will be the BTS, the coaches are so overcrowded during the rush hour, that it sways from side to side when going around corners and stops erratically at the stations, but again nothing will be done about it until it comes off the rails and lands on the road during a traffic jam. Only then, will they enforce pedestrian control.

[ratcatcher]

This would appear to have been a temporary timber bridge built on wood pilings driven into the river bed.

Obviously not sturdy enough to stand the force of the flow of the Prachin river, especially when several hundred tons of floating water hyacinth are pressing against it.

With the rainy season now in progress, I expect they will delay any rebuild until later in the year.

[EyesWideOpen]

Note to self: Avoid Thai bridges..... Temporary or permanent, the lives of many children crossing it each day were at stake, and it should have been built to an appropriate safety standard. Once again corruption rears its ugly head with shoddy construction, thankfully no one was hurt.

[cup-O-coffee]

The suspended bridge was installed to link the Marawittaya School to study centres while a permanent bridge is built.

"is built", or "is being built" because the former suggests with poor grammar that nothing has been done yet. And it is interesting that they had the time, resources and finances to build two (2) bridges in what I suggest might have used less time, resources and finances to build one permanent bridge.

Perhaps it is not important anyhow, since perhaps the school is slated for closure. But we'll never know, will we, with such incompetent reporting and such loose-ended articles.

[Cuban]

We were driving down to Phuket some years ago when the bridge ~20Km in front of us was closed due to potential problems connected with flooding.

We waited about three hours with thousands of other vehicles on Hwy 4 until police came through the back log picking out all the 4x4s to join an escorted convoy that bypassed the suspect bridge in a great off road adventure that went through a light wooded area down across the top of the beach and then back on to Hwy South bound via a village.

Everyone drove slowly in single file, very well ordered and good thinking by local police that I assume have done this before. In the West you would have been left in the traffic queue.

[KED]

That was not a suspension bridge, pathetic reporting.

suspension bridge or submerged bridge - it's all a matte of semantics

[Chrisswe]

Classic Thai corruption !!

[ratcatcher]

Classic Thai corruption !!

Or perhaps classic Thai 'collapsion"?

[scorecard]

Note to self: Avoid Thai bridges..... Temporary or permanent, the lives of many children crossing it each day were at stake, and it should have been built to an appropriate safety standard. Once again corruption rears its ugly head with shoddy construction, thankfully no one was hurt.

Another example: Why do the two bridges on Rama 4 Road (Bkk) at the intersections of 1). Silom and 2). Sathorn have to be closed every three or so years (closed for 3 or 4 months) for repairs. Surely this indicates that something is wrong and should be fixed permanently.

[Cuban]

Classic Thai corruption !!

I'm never one to defend the many examples of poor Thai skills in many areas, yet I fail to see how this is an example of corruption, classic or otherwise.

It's a temporary pedestrian bridge swept out by the build up of pressure from flood water borne debits/vegetation.

The bridge was closed to use as a precaution before the incident.

They were working to install a "proper" bridge (see image above) but possibly delayed by flooding/rain?

[davejones]

Note to self: Avoid Thai bridges..... Temporary or permanent, the lives of many children crossing it each day were at stake, and it should have been built to an appropriate safety standard. Once again corruption rears its ugly head with shoddy construction, thankfully no one was hurt.

You'd better avoid American bridges as well, as they are prone to collapse. Best if you stay indoors and don't venture out at all.

[Payboy]

That was not a suspension bridge, pathetic reporting.

Gotta admit, it kept everyone in suspense, wondering when it would fall.

[Jimjim]

I'm sure that the temporary bridge was under-engineered and a minimum amount of money spent while the new bridge was being built but ...

But ... the positive take out for me was the combined fact that someone had "the bridge was closed earlier in the day as a precaution"

AND that "Prachin Buri Governor Chitra Promchutima said she ordered the immediate closure of another temporary suspension bridge across the river pending an inspection and repairs."

Not often do you read here, examples of people who have either the foresight or the planning to do those two actions above.

.

I agree that's very positive.

But you don't read about people being cautious and safe in this country because that doesn't make the news. It only makes the news when something bad happens.

Safety has a long way to come in Thailand but there are Thais who care and who do things right with the safety of others in mind.