During French regime The bridge was built in 1899–1902 by the architects Daydé & Pillé of Paris, and opened in 1903. Before North Vietnam's independence in 1954, it was called
Paul-Doumer Bridge, named after
Paul Doumer – the governor-general of French Indochina and then French president. At in length, CIA reports noted that the severing of the bridge did not appear to have caused as much disruption as had been expected. During the war, many anti- aircraft artillery were placed on the top of the bridge in order to protect it against attack. On 10 May 1972 the bridge was attacked in the first
Operation Linebacker attacks in response to the North Vietnamese
Easter Offensive. On 13 May the USAF announced that several spans of the bridge had been destroyed by
laser-guided bombs (LGB). On 9 August the USAF announced that another LGB attack had disabled the newly repaired bridge. On 11 September the USAF attacked the bridge again as repairs were nearing completion.
Modern day Some parts of the original structure remain intact, while large sections have been built later to repair the holes. Only half the bridge retains its original shape. A project with support and loan from the French government is currently in progress to restore the bridge to its original appearance. Today trains, mopeds, bicycles and pedestrians use the dilapidated bridge, while all other traffic is diverted to the nearby
Chương Dương Bridge and some other bridges:
Thanh Trì Bridge,
Thăng Long Bridge,
Vĩnh Tuy Bridge, and
Nhật Tân Bridge. Under the bridge, poor families live in boats on the Red River, coming from many rural areas of Vietnam. == Image gallery ==