First Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge

The First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge is a bridge over the Mekong, connecting the city of Nong Khai in Thailand with Vientiane Prefecture in Laos; the city of Vientiane is approximately 20 km from the bridge. With a length of 1,170 meters the bridge has two 3.5-meter-wide road lanes, two 1.5-meter-wide footpaths and a single 1 meter gauge railway line in the middle, straddling the narrow central reservation. Opened on April 8, 1994, it was the first bridge across the lower Mekong, and the second on the full course of the Mekong. The cost was about £19 million, funded by the Australian government as development aid for Laos. The bridge was designed and built by Australian companies as a demonstration of their ability to complete major infrastructural projects in Southeast Asia. The concept design of a balanced cantilever bridge was proposed by Bruce Ramsay of VSL with the final design carried out by Maunsell consulting engineers. The official name of the bridge was changed by the addition of "First" after the Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge further south at Savannakhet opened in January 2007. [Wikipedia]

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