The Mon Bridge, Thailand's longest wooden bridge, has finally been reconnected after being torn apart by runoff in Kanchanaburi province in July last year.
Engineering soldiers show off the completed Mon Bridge in Kanchanaburi on Saturday. (Photo by Piyarach Chongcharoen)
A grand reopening ceremony is scheduled on Oct 18 for the bridge, which is also the second longest of its kind in the world.
Engineering soldiers of the 9th Infantry Division placed the last plank and a nail for local authorities to symbolically hammer to join the two parts of the bridge together at 1pm on Saturday.
The military took over the bridge repairs after a contractor hired to do the work had failed to do so.
Maj Gen Nat Intaracharoen, commander of the division, said the overall construction of the "Bridge of Faith" was more than 90% completed and all remaining work would be finished in time for the official reopening on Oct 18. On the same date, people in Sangkhla Buri district will also make merit on the anniversary of the death of their revered abbot, Luang Por Uttama.
The Mon Bridge was first built by local ethnic Mon people to honour Luang Por Uttama, who protected them from the impact of fighting along the Thai-Myanmar border. The bridge is officially called the Uttamanusorn Bridge in honour of the abbot.
The 850-metre-long wooden bridge was completed in 1987. It crosses the Song Kalia River and links Sangkhla Buri district with the Mon community of Ban Wangka. It is also a major tourism magnet for Kanchanaburi.
Maj Gen Nat said that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had ordered quick and careful repairs to the bridge, while legal action against the contractor would continue.