Pairing off: Bangkok's Love Affair with Cable-Stayed Bridges

Even though the fist two cable stayed bridges built in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, were both minor failures, the city is now in the process of building three more. The paired bridges , with a complex interchange in between, will service freight traffic for the Bangkok port area, and the third will be a new gateway for the capital city. The paired bridges are needed because of the sweeping curve taken by the Chae Phrya River as it flows seaward with the upstream part of the loop almost meeting the downstream river. The big curve makes an excellent harbor, but development has caused major traffic problems, and so an 'industrial ring road' is being created crossing the river at the narrow point of the loop. The third cable stayed bridge in Bangkok will be about one kilometer downstream from the industrial ringroad and the paired bridges. That US$ 384 million project will involve the creation of 22.5 km of mainly elevated road including the link across the Chao Phrya. The bridge will be 941 m long with a central span of 500 m and a road deck 52 m above the river, which will be carrying considerable port traffic. The construction of the third bridge is scheduled for October 2006.