The external barrier wall of National Road 1’s Tsubasa Bridge, commonly known as the Neak Loeung Bridge, was damaged on Tuesday after being struck by a “10 to 20 tonne” mobile crane.
A truck was towing the crane when the towrope broke, sending it careering into the concrete barrier, Un Sophanarith, Peamro district deputy police chief in charge of traffic, told The Post on Wednesday. No one was injured.
Damage to the bridge ran approximately 12m, with a section of the concrete barrier hit so hard that the steel reinforcing bars were exposed.
The owner of the crane is yet to be identified.
Sophanarith said he had inspected the scene of the accident, adding that the crane had been impounded by Peamro district police and was awaiting the owner to claim it.
Police said they received information that the owner of the crane lived in Svay Rieng province’s Bavet city and they were cooperating with local authorities to find him.
“We are working with Bavet and Svay Rieng authorities as the crane travelled from Bavet city,” Sophanarith said.
He added that authorities wanted the crane’s owner to come forward and pay for the repairs to the bridge.
Ut Sothea, the director of Prey Veng province’s department of Public Works and Transportation, told The Post that he had inspected the accident site but could not yet assess how much the cost of the damage would be.
He said the owner of the crane would have to be found before a resolution could be reached.
“In this case, authorities have not yet been able to assess the total cost of the damage. We need to wait for the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation to inspect the site. The crane could weigh between 10 to 20 tonnes, but we are not sure,” Sothea said.
The Tsubasa Bridge is a 2.2km cable-stayed bridge built to replace a ferry service. It is Cambodia’s longest bridge across the Mekong River, 300m longer than its nearest rival, the Koh Kong Bridge.
