A bamboo bridge over a kilometer long can bear a load of 4 tons

Kampong Cham bamboo bridge in Cambodia is demolished every year on the Mekong River, able to withstand 4 tons of vehicles.

The rickety bamboo bridge over a kilometer long runs through the turbid waters of the Mekong River, connecting the floating Koh Pen island in the middle of the river with Kampong Cham, Cambodia's sixth largest city on the west bank, according to Amusing Planet. This bamboo bridge exists seasonally.

Bamboo bridges are built every dry season when the Mekong River water recedes and becomes too shallow to sail through the river. Then at the beginning of the rainy season, before the water level rises, the bridge is demolished by hand. Bamboo stalks are removed or reused for other buildings. In the rainy season, the river flows so fast that the bridge cannot stand. Instead, people cross the river by boat.

The bridge is spacious and stable enough to bear the weight of light vehicles.

As soon as the river level recedes low enough, the construction of the new bridge begins. First, tall bamboo is buried in the river bed with bamboo mats to create foundations. After that, many bamboo poles are oblique in different directions around the nail.

The bridge is spacious and stable enough to bear the weight of light vehicles. Because the bamboo body buckles instead of breaking when under pressure, driving a car or motorbike over the bridge will cause the bamboo poles to constantly shake, making the driver feel like riding a wave, along with a loud crashing sound coming from floor surface underneath tires.

"There are no bridges created from thousands of horizontal bamboos that are flat, so the journey will be bumpy and slippery. Fast motorists will create waves and touches across the bridge, threatening to knock them off. the man stood unsteadily and pushed them down onto a row of bamboo poles at the edge of the bridge, " visitor Emily Lush wrote.

Kampong Cham bamboo bridge was destroyed and rebuilt annually for decades. But this year may be the last year of the bridge. Approximately two kilometers south of the bridge is the inaugural concrete bridge in March this year. The new bridge is 800 meters long, can accommodate vehicles with a tonnage of 30 tons, far beyond the 4-ton limit of the bamboo bridge and has a working life of at least 50 years.