20 Years of the My Thuan Bridge – Untold Stories – Part 1: A Time to Become a River

Traffic Jam Scene at My Thuan Ferry Terminal in the early 1960s – Documentary Photo

Because the first half of the 20th century, the French missed the rendezvous, and then 20 years of Saigon government efforts with American, Japanese and Korean contractors went nowhere …

“I remember the opening day of the My Thuan Bridge on May 21, 2000, when the late Prime Minister Phan Van Khai took his mother to visit them. She and her aunt were mingled in the ‘sea’ of people eager to visit. , he asked us repeatedly about the bridge and every now and then he would turn to ask: “Where is my mother?”

And he kept laughing when he found out that she was having fun with the background people … “- 20 years have passed with so many changes, but Mr. Do Ngoc Dung, former deputy director general of the My Thuan Bridge Project Management Board, still remember unforgettable emotional memories.

Crossing the river must “drag” the ferry

Mr. Do Ngoc Dung stated that it is a bridge in the history of the Mekong Delta, including Vietnam, with many special things like the fast construction time in just three years, the latest cable-stayed bridge technique. apply and ensure absolute safety for the project.

However, the most special of the special things that the leaders of the country at that time and the bridge builders did not expect to be the concern of the people either. There is seldom an event where people rejoice with such crowds.

From the night of the union to the inauguration of the My Thuan Bridge, people from all places gathered and stood on a long bridge over the Tien River. Even the road to the bridge and both sides of the river are gloomy people …

Going back in time to the past, having this bridge to widen the gateway to the southwest region is a very long journey with many times of blood and fire, ups and downs for a century.

“I remember around September 1955 we had passed by the My Thuan ferry to the Cai San farm, Kien Giang. That day it seemed like a flood was coming, the small ferry that was carrying the group of migrants died, followed by a flood.” water line.

It was very difficult, another boat was able to pull our ferry safely across the shore of Vinh Long “- Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc, 84, has not forgotten the first days of emigration from north to south.

Before the French started establishing a steam powered ferry in the early 20th century, the My Thuan dock area had boats across the river by locals.

However, according to the traditional memories of the elders along the Tien River, the small boat that was crossing the river at that time was very empty. Because before the French opened the road to the mainland, the inhabitants of this area went mainly by rivers and canals, and each house had boats instead of cars.

Right from the start, when the French took the ferry with few passengers, My Thuan station gradually witnessed traffic jams from the 1940s to the 1950s.

The Saigon newspaper Le Living published on October 31, 1955 “Traffic Jam in North My Thuan” with very hot words: “This is the voice of the passengers from Saigon to Hau Giang provinces. Tonight, the passengers who had the opportunity to travel from Saigon to Hau Giang provinces experienced many tragic difficulties at North My Thuan station, because the traffic jam that brought them and then had to park everything … wait north (transport).

Although the road from Saigon to the mainland has long been unloaded for free traffic, North My Thuan only starts the first trip every day at 6 o’clock, so all vehicles must wait to arrive. Only then did we cross the river.

So people rushed to work, stayed up late at night to catch the bus at Saigon station, sometimes going there and then completely disappointed. Because while waiting north the military vehicles arrived, it was natural that the other vehicles would have to wait again. The right of priority over the north is always that of the military vehicle.

Suffering at this time of the rainy season, passengers must be wet and small. In addition, it is also difficult for the manager to order there, and the vehicle waiting north is a bumpy, bumpy place that can lead to accidents to vehicles.

In order to take care of the people in all respects and especially to show the security that has long been restored in the country, the people demanded that the South Vietnamese Department of Public Works and the local authorities mentioned above. So the order to change the time for North My Thuan to run earlier than before … “.

At the end of the article, Le Song newspaper suggested that the My Thuan ferry start operating at 5 a.m., then two months later, the Director General of Public Works, Nguyen Van Dinh, suggested to the Minister of Public Works and Traffic that the ferry will operate from 4 in the morning. hours until 22:00 and when necessary, run all night. This recommendation was made later …

My ferry Thuan in 1965 is still very neglected, temporary – Documentary photo

Negotiation of fines and accidents

“In the late 1950s, we sometimes had jobs from Kien Giang to Saigon via the My Thuan ferry. I remember that at that time, ferries often got stuck early in the morning, at noon and at night. The provinces run to ferries.

My parents used to bring rice and dried fish to eat while they waited for the ferry. ”Mr. Ngoc added that the heaviest traffic jam was that every time there was a troop on the ferry, all the vehicles had to go behind.

In 1960, to reduce the load on North My Thuan during the day, the authorities increased the ferry’s hours of operation at night, while increasing the ferry fare during the day. The bus station wants to benefit from the fare, the departure time to cross the ferry at night.

However, this measure has met with fierce opposition from the large garage. Many large carriers such as Duc Hiep, Dai Dong, Dai Hung, Lap Thanh, Hiep Loi have come together to establish “Saigon – Ca Mau Transport Union” to find ways to cut costs through My Thuan ferry.

Finally, they agreed to establish two vehicle fleets from Saigon to the northern coast of My Thuan and the fleet from the south of My Thuan to the western provinces. Vehicles carrying passengers from Saigon to the ferry stop for guests to walk across the ferry to get on the bus waiting on the other shore and vice versa.

Therefore, airlines will not have to spend money on ferry tickets. With 9 companies and almost 30 vehicles operating this type, the My Thuan ferry terminal lost revenue for many months in 1960.

In the history of the My Thuan ferry, serious accidents have rarely occurred. But before 1975 there were also ferry accidents and car sinks here.

The Nha Kieu Highway document registered on February 3, 1958, a passenger car with registration NDC 579 by driver Dinh Van Hoang in Xom Moi, Go Vap, carrying migrants to Hau Giang, was on a 25-ton ferry number 4E25 . The engine died and it sank into a river, killing some people, including children.

On the night of September 27, 1963, two Saigon freight cars boarded the 50-ton B50 ferry at My Thuan, flipped on its side, tilting the ferry and sinking completely into the river. The accident had no fatalities but caused a stir in the Saigon press and outside the congressmen.

The plan to build the My Thuan Bridge over the Tien River, which was established in the mid-1950s, is even more urgent …

Few people know that since 1956, the Saigon government has planned three options: suspension bridge, pillar bridge, or tunnel connecting the banks of My Thuan.

Next time: there must be a bridge