The Irrawaddy Bridge (Yadanabon) () (also Ayeyarwady Bridge, Yadanabon Bridge, Yadanar Pone Bridge or New Ava Bridge) is a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

Mandalay Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...

, Myanmar. It crosses the

Irrawaddy River The Irrawaddy River (, , Ayeyarwady) is the principal river of Myanmar, running through the centre of the country. Myanmar’s most important commercial waterway, it is about 1,350 miles (2,170 km) long. Originating from the confluence of the ...

, to the southwest of

and

Amarapura Amarapura (, , ; also spelt as Ummerapoora) is a former capital of Myanmar, and now a township of Mandalay city. Amarapura is bounded by the Irrawaddy river in the west, Chanmyathazi Township in the north, and the ancient capital site of Ava ...

and just to the north of the old Ava Bridge, and is also known as the New Ava Bridge. It was completed in 2008.

Location

The Yadanabon Bridge spans the Irrawaddy River (Ayeyarwady River) in the Mandalay suburb connects with

Sagaing Sagaing (, ) is a town in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located on the Irrawaddy River, to the south-west of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river. Sagaing, with its numerous Buddhist monasteries, is an important religious and ...

City. It is upstream of the Ava Bridge. which is at the confluence of the Irrawaddy with the Myitnge River, close to the Kyaukse rice fields. The bridge (also known as Ayeyawady Bridge) is the gateway to

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

, Mandalay and interior other regions. Nearby on the river banks are two 12th century ''payas'' known as Shwe-kyet-yet and Shwe-kyet-kya.

History

The old Ava (or Inva or

Inwa Inwa (, or ; also spelled Innwa; formerly known as Ava), located in Mandalay Region, Myanmar, is an ancient imperial capital of successive Burmese kingdoms from the 14th to 19th centuries. Throughout history, it was sacked and rebuilt numerou ...

Bridge) across the

had a span of . Built by the British in 1934, until the 1990s, it was the only bridge which spanned this river. The Ava had aged, and its carrying capacity became limited to under 15-ton capacity trucks since 1992. Heavily laden vehicles crossed the river with Z-craft ferries, resulting in less efficient transportation of goods. To ease the traffic congestion and to help improve the overall economic conditions of Burma, a new bridge was planned by the government. International tender was invited in early 2002 for ts construction. The tender for the highway bridge envisaged planning, design and construction. The bidding process lasted eight months, and the work was awarded to China CAMC Engineering Cc., Ltd. in October 2002. The contract was signed in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

for a tendered amount of US$10.90 million on 19 November 2002. (By 2004, 35 bridges were under construction in Burma, along with the Irrawaddy of Yadanabon.) The new bridge was opened on 11 April 2008.

Features

Irrawaddy Bridge was built by the Public Works of the Ministry of Construction. It has total span of long and has a four-lane motorway of width with pedestrian lanes of wide on the flanks. It is designed for a carrying capacity of 60 tons. The bridge is a flexible beam structure with three rigid arches of 224 meters each. The main bridge is long. Its approach on the Mandalay side is long and that on the Sagaing side is 7. The Thiri Mangala overpass above the railway crossing (which used to hold up traffic) involved a reinforced concrete bridge of length with a two-lane motorway with a carrying capacity of 60 tons. It is designed to provide a clearance of width and height to pass the trains.

References

;Bibliography * * * {{coord, 21, 52, 39, N, 95, 59, 42, E, type:landmark, display=title Bridges in Myanmar Buildings and structures in Mandalay Region Bridges completed in 2008