HCMC's new pedestrian bridge wins praise, but crossing the road to reach it is a challenge

Readers have praised Ho Chi Minh City's new Saigon River pedestrian bridge as a striking addition to the city, but raised concerns about how pedestrians can safely cross a busy road to reach it.

The first pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River connects Bach Dang Wharf Park on Ton Duc Thang Street in downtown Ho Chi Minh City with the Thu Thiem Peninsula. Located just steps from Nguyen Hue Walking Street, it is expected to become part of a major tourist attraction complex in the city center.

The bridge's main span was connected on Oct. 21 after its steel arch was transported from the coastal city of Vung Tau.

Inspired by nipa palm leaves, the bridge has drawn praise for its design. Many VnExpress International readers have expressed eagerness to visit once it opens to the public in February.

A reader who goes by highvoltagedaddy expressed his pride for the project: "I'm not Vietnamese but I felt so proud watching the bridge floating down the river in front of my apartment. It's really awesome to see the country developing and the government ensuring the building of new infrastructure. Vietnam is indeed a flagship for developing nations and something to be celebrated."

However, others have raised concerns about how to reach the bridge safely, given the heavy traffic on Ton Duc Thang.

Reader jarvo raised the question: "How do you cross the road to get to the bridge?"

nnnosg shared the concern: "The bridge is basically inaccessible for pedestrians because of the extremely dangerous road crossing necessary."

kevin_wong22 said: "This is amazing - will be nice to get to this from (Nguyen Hue) walking street, but the authorities may want to build something to help tourists cross 8 lanes of traffic to get to the riverside."

hotlipsvungtau referred to the city's overpasses plan as a solution: "As cool as this is I am even more excited about the proposed pedestrian bridges over Ton Duc Thang at Bach Dang Wharf. Although crossing Ton Duc Thang isn't as harrowing as it used to be it will be great when/if they install the apparently planned two pedestrian overpasses over the street."