The Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) and contractors on June 4 started to install precast viaducts of the elevated track of Metro Line No. 1, and plan to complete its construction by 2018.
Metro Line No. 1 connects the downtown area of HCMC and Suoi Tien Park in District 9. Its 17.1-kilometer elevated section is designed to start from Shipyard in District 1 and end at Long Binh Depot in District 9.
According to MAUR, constructors have used a mobile scaffolding system to install the precast segments based on the balanced cantilever method of bridge construction applied for the first time in Vietnam.
As many as 4,536 U-shaped viaducts which weigh 42 tons each have been precast at a designated area in District 9 and transported to the construction site by trucks.
Workers will glue 13 viaduct parts together by using epoxy glue, locks and post-tension cables.
Metro Line No. 1 is 19.7 kilometers long with 2.6 kilometers going underground and 17.1 kilometers elevated. It has three underground and 11 elevated stations.
The line will be finished and test run in 2019 before being put into service a year later.
The project had an initial investment of US$1.09 billion funded by official development assistance (ODA) loans and the State budget. However, the cost of the project has been adjusted up to US$2.49 billion as the appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the dong led to higher expenses for some components of the project.
(http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/41260/First-precast-viaducts-of-metro-line-in-place.html)
