VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN): The Vientiane Administration Office has announced the temporary closure of the First Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge in Vientiane from 6 to 7:30am on Sunday (April 21).
The bridge will be closed for 90 minutes while a special ceremony takes place to mark the 30th anniversary of the opening of the bridge, which was the first to link Laos and Thailand across the Mekong River. Its construction was funded by the Government of Australia.
The ceremony will take place in the middle of the bridge.
Drivers of all vehicles who wish to cross the bridge from the Vientiane side are requested to wait on Thadeua Road until the bridge opens at 7:30am.
The ceremony will include almsgiving to monks and other activities, when both Lao and Thai Buddhist monks will bestow blessings on the bridge.
Over the past 30 years, the governments of Laos and Thailand have partnered in the maintenance and improvement of the bridge and border crossing operations.
The bridge links Vientiane and Nong Khai province in Thailand, and is 1,174 metres long and 12.7 metres wide. It has two traffic lanes and pedestrian walkways on both sides.
Construction took place from October 1991 to April 1994, and the bridge is now the most important land border crossing between Laos and Thailand. In addition, the bridge symbolises the enduring bonds of friendship between Laos, Thailand and Australia. - Vientiane Times/ANN
