WAVES OF RED AND MURALED BRIDGES FROM THE AYAKO SERIOUS TO THE CORRIDOR OF CUMBERLAND VALLEY – CAMBRIDGE, UK, 1998
In a meeting between ministers and bureaucrats from Asia and Europe to speed up development projects, Cambodia is showcasing a vast network of modern intercity roads and bridges along its borderlands.
At just half a mile long, the DRC River Bridge at the Cambodian-DRC border is the shortest but thus longest in the world, with dual motorable lanes. Running the length of the river, with a wooded area incorporated into the design, it has the same effect as a giant corkscrew carved from a thick slab of rock.
The much longer DRC River Bridge at Rongmela, on the Cambodian-Cambodian border, is laid out on a grid system and emerges in two tracks on either side of the river, supporting undergirding steel columns reaching up to 200 feet above the water.
Another award-winning bridge is the Hirany Bridge at Myee, on the Thai-Cambodian border, which has a greatly improved tourist interpretation centre. It has images from ancient Myee and Nepalese embroidery, as well as kilims and the classic woven boxes from Cambodia called tams.
Despite the supposed era of love and peace between its people, the uneasy border between Thailand and Cambodia still marks where the Hmong Nationalist Party tried to make war with the Thai military in 1965.
Along the border is a music festival that celebrates the cultural heritage of both countries – though Cambodia has been forced to schedule the festival in June, against the Thai Independence Day in September.