Long Bien Bridge, the symbol of the capital and also the main traffic route across the Red River, connects the two districts of Long Bien and Hoan Kiem.

However, having been subjected to the ravages of war and time, the bridge is in very poor condition.

Passersby are not aware of the current status of the old bridge.

A temporary pillar made from steel framed gabions has been used for years.

This iron girder is heavily rusted.

Another rusty beam.

It is very easy to peel off thin rusty layers of steel.

This decaying bridge serves thousands of people each day.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Long, deputy director of the Ha Hai Railway Company, which is in charge of managing the Long Bien Bridge, said, besides periodic repair, in 2005 the bridge was reinforced at a cost of nearly VND100 billion ($5 million) to ensure traffic safety until 2010. Since then, the bridge has not been reinforced in a major way again, and thus has fallen into disrepair.

Long added that the old bridge is not on a list of works for special maintenance, so annual funding for maintenance is limited, about VND7 billion in 2013-2014 and VND3 billion ($150,000) per year in previous years. The funding is enough to pay nearly 80 workers who specialize in scraping off rust, repainting rusty components and replacing sleepers and fasteners, and cleaning the bridge.

The Vietnam Railway Corporation has asked the Ministry of Transport to urgently choose contractors to repair the Long Bien Bridge, with a total budget of nearly VND300 billion ($15 million).

As the bridge is too weak, trains are allowed to run at 20km/h.

The potential danger is not only for traffic on the bridge, but also the boats traveling beneath the bridge.