【Introduction of the project】
The East-West Economic Corridor, which crosses the Indochina Peninsula, is a transportation infrastructure development project aimed at improving connectivity and promoting economic development among the countries along the corridor. This project is being advanced with the cooperation of the Japanese government and other stakeholders. In Myanmar, which located at the western end of the East-West Economic Corridor, the trade with Thailand has expanded rapidly in line with the country's economic growth since the transition to civilian rule in 2011. However, the existing bridges along the corridor, which are subject to weight restrictions, have become transportation bottlenecks for the countries along the route, particularly with the planned replacement of three bridges that have significantly deteriorated.
In this project, a new bridge, the Gyaing Kawkareik Bridge, was constructed to replace an existing bridge over the Gyaing River. The new bridge is a seven span bridge which consists of an approach bridge section at both ends and a main bridge section spanning the river. The main bridge section features an extradosed bridge design, a type of bridge technology developed in Japan. The girder of the main bridge implements corrugated steel webs made of weathering steel plates to reduce the self-weight of the bridge and maintenance costs, along with a strut structure that supports the wide deck. This bridge incorporates various advanced Japanese bridge technologies and its single-side suspension structure has become a beautiful landmark and part of the local landscape.
During the construction period, the works was temporarily interrupted due to floods and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in response to the strong demands of the Employer (Ministry of Construction, The Republic of the Union of Myanmar), all project stakeholders worked together with a focus on maintaining high quality and continuation of construction, ensuring the early completion of the project. As a result, the project was successfully completed in 2023.