Cambodia News, (Kratie): The road from Phnom Penh to Kratie town via Chhlong along the Mekong river has five new bridges under construction after the road was washed out by flooding last year.

As of 23 June 2020, the five concrete bridges under construction, which are funded by the Japanese Government in Kratie province, are now 82% completed, and are scheduled to be operational by September 15, 2020.
There are four new bridges in Chhlong District: 1. 35m deep bridge, 2m deep and 3m wide, 3m 48m long and 50m high and the Prek Bridge (in Chhlong town) is 140 meters long, and the final bridge is the 175m Prek (Peam) bridge in the Rokar Kandal district as you enter Kratie town from the south.

The five bridges, located on National Road 73, were constructed by HAZAMA, and they are all two lane bridges to allow vehicles to cross the rivers from both sides at the same time. The previous old bridges all only had one single lane which created traffic congestion for local people.
These new bridges will considerably shorten road trips between Phnom Penh and Kratie, and also between Phnom Penh and the Laos border in the north of Cambodia.

Good news story for a change thanks, I've noticed quite a few bridges seem to be built or financed by Japan, even older ones.

John Bingham wrote: ↑Tue Jun 23, 2020 8:31 pm

atst wrote: ↑Tue Jun 23, 2020 6:50 pm Good news story for a change thanks, I've noticed quite a few bridges seem to be built or financed by Japan, even older ones.

They were the biggest benefactors for infrastructure for a long time, but were overtaken by Sino investments quite a while back. Their drainage scheme in the capital has been fantastic, only people who were around before the improvements would understand. They use their own engineers and equipment so there's a lot in it for them too but it's my understanding that these are more donations than stuff on credit. I may be wrong.

That road from Chhlong to Kratie used to be messy. I tried it in 2005 and we had to put the bike into a canoe a few times. I don't like sitting in canoes too much because they wobble so much, putting a bike on one while you drift past the tops of submerged sugar palms is wierd.

The road from Chhlong to Kratie was quite good once they sealed it, but the big problem was always the bridges across the the streams that flood in the wet season. Every year there would be roadworks because the bridges were always collapsing. Hopefully with these well built Japanese structural bridges the roads will last for a few years at least.

A large part of the road is build on the Mekong levee. There are loads of inlets to conserve the levee, and that’s where those bridges are. If they would close the inlets the levee would be washed away by the flood of the rainy season in a few years. Now the lower lands around that area of the Mekong are inundated every year in the rainy season.

John Bingham wrote: ↑Tue Jun 23, 2020 9:15 pm It wasn't sealed when I went that time, it was mostly a mud road that wound through villages and large sections were underwater or flooded.

A few bridges were built in the 2008-2010 period, but now the bridges closer to Kratie have been rebuild. The main one being the one entering Kratie city from the south. It used to be a single lane steel bridge, pretty long, and now a promising two-lane concrete structure is looming.