“There is a terrible traffic jam on Thi Nghe Bridge everyday during rush hour. I’m terrified every time I get stuck in the middle of it wondering if the bridge is going to collapse,” said Phan Mai Trang, a resident in Ward 19, Binh Thanh District.

Huge numbers of people travel along the bridge everyday despite its seriously degraded condition. The bridge was hit by an 800-tonne barge carrying six large concrete piles last month.

Transport officials said that it would take at least two months to repair the damage.

Trang said, however, until now no repairs had begun.

Vo Thi Kim Chi, who lives near the Do Bridge which lies on Nguyen Xi Street in Binh Thanh District, said that the bridge was in a dilapidated state and authorities had formulated plans to build a new one a decade ago.

But the project has not yet begun. “Everyone knows that the bridge is sagging and could collapse at any time. The number of vehicles commuting on the bridge increases every year. There are traffic jams everyday,” Chi said.

Hang Ngoai Bridge on Nguyen Van Nghi Street in Go Vap District acts as an entry to the city for trucks coming from Dong Nai.

Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy who owns a clothes shop near the bridge’s ramp said that she observed traffic jams on the bridge six days a week. ” I wish the Government would pay more attention and present plans to renovate the bridge. It’s very dangerous. Accidents happen here all the time.”

While the road-users consider the bridges crucial, local authorities seem less concerned.

Le Van Mui, head of the Administration office of the Urban Transport Management Group No 1, said: “Hang Ngoai is a very short bridge and the city does not yet have plans to upgrade it. We’ve made plans to repair and upgrade other more important ones in the area.”

He also added that he had not yet received any traffic jam reports regarding the bridges of most public concern. Mui said his staff were supposed to monitor the bridges 24 hours a day.

According to Le Minh Quang, an official from the HCM City’s Department of Transport, the city has plans ready to repair and upgrade 16 more bridges in the city. The remaining 39 are not part of any renovation or upgrading projects as yet.

VNN/VNS