Kampong Cham bamboo bridge in Cambodia is demolished and rebuilt every year on the Mekong River, can bear vehicles weighing 4 tons.
A rickety bamboo bridge more than a kilometer long runs through the murky waters of the Mekong River, connecting the floating island of Koh Pen in the middle of the river with Kampong Cham, Cambodia’s sixth largest city on the west bank, according to Amusing Planet. This bamboo bridge is seasonal.
The bamboo bridge is built every dry season when the water of the Mekong River recedes and becomes too shallow to sail across the river. Then at the start of the rainy season, before the water level rose, the bridge was demolished by hand. The bamboo stalks are stored or reused for other constructions. During the rainy season, the river flows so fast that the bridge cannot stand. Instead, people cross the river by boat.
The bridge is spacious and stable enough to bear the weight of light vehicles.
As soon as the river level drops low enough, the construction of the new bridge begins again. First, a tall bamboo stem is buried in the river bed along with a layer of woven bamboo mats to create the foundation. After that, many bamboo poles are skewed in different directions around the foundation.
The bridge is spacious and stable enough to bear the weight of light vehicles. Because the bamboo body bends instead of breaking when under pressure, driving a car or motorbike across the bridge will cause the bamboo poles to constantly sway, making the driver feel like they are riding a wave, along with the creaking sound coming from the bridge. floor underneath the tire.
“No stretch of bridge made of thousands of horizontal bamboo stalks is flat, so the driving journey will be bumpy and slippery. Driving a motorbike fast will create waves and bumps all over the bridge, threatening to knock off road users. people were unsteady and pushed them down on the bamboo poles at the edge of the bridge,” wrote visitor Emily Lush.
The Kampong Cham Bamboo Bridge was demolished and rebuilt every year for decades. But this year could be the bridge’s last. About two kilometers south of the young bridge is a concrete bridge inaugurated in March this year. The new bridge is 800 meters long, can bear vehicles with a tonnage of 30 tons, far exceeding the limit of 4 tons of bamboo bridges and has an operating life of at least 50 years.