The Hien Luong Bridge, a significant historical landmark in central Vietnam, will soon undergo disassembly to replace damaged parts with new ones and be repainted in blue and yellow.

The upcoming Hien Luong Bridge renovation project is scheduled to begin in the third quarter and is expected to be completed in 2025, at a total cost of VND 80 billion (US$3.14 million).

This will be the second time the old bridge has been slated for a repaint.

The bridge sits on the 17th parallel, crossing the Ben Hai River in Hien Luong Village, Vinh Thanh Commune, Vinh Linh District, central Quang Tri Province.

From 1954 to 1975, the Hien Luong Bridge served as the border between two Vietnamese territories: the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the north and the Republic of Vietnam in the south.

On June 21, Le Dinh Hao, head of the historic management division of the Quang Tri Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, briefed Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on the Hien Luong Bridge repainting project. 

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has produced a document outlining its opinions on Quang Tri's proposal for a Thong Nhat park in the special national relic of the Hien Luong - Ben Hai twin bank, Hao said.

In response to the province's application for reconstruction and repairs to the bridge, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism requested that Quang Tri conduct a small-scale trial to get primary judgment before expanding the work.

All of the bridge's replacement parts will have to be stored as souvernirs.

Over time, a portion of the steel frame that held the bridge has deteriorated while the wooden bridge planks have already rotted, giving rise to concerns whenever a large number of people cross it at the same time.

The Hien Luong Bridge renovation project entails deconstructing the bridge partially or completely, making decisions, and determining which parts should be replaced in addition to rebuilding the damaged items, Hao said.

"The Hien Luong Bridge has not been overhauled for a long time," Hao stated.

"The revamp would replace most of the bridge planks and iron bridge trusses in the spirit of preserving original features to the greatest extent possible while minimizing architectural damage and restoring the original relic."

The bridge's new steel frames will be repainted in blue and yellow.

Given the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism's requirements on repainting the bridge, the provincial authorities would conduct an experiment before proceeding with the task altogether.

The bridge was first repaired in 2014, with the steel frames painted in the original colors of blue and yellow, reflecting the period when Vietnam was still at war.

However, its colors have gradually faded over the past ten years.

The historic bridge was constructed in 1952 by the French colonial authorities.

According to the 1954 Geneva Accords, Vietnam was divided into two parts along the 17th parallel, and the Ben Hai River and Hien Luong Bridge were partitioned correspondingly.

There was once a 'war of painting' on the bridge.

When the southern half of the bridge was painted in one color, the northern half was painted the same color to symbolize the wish for unity.

This painting war lasted until 1960, when the two colors, blue and yellow, were chosen. In 1967, American bombs destroyed the bridge.

The current Hien Luong Bridge was rebuilt after Vietnam was reunified in 1975.

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