Carries Motor vehicles Opened 11 December 2013 Width 15 m | Design box girder bridge Total length 480 m Body of water Mekong | |
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Locale Wiang Chiang Khong, Chiang Rai ProvinceBan Houayxay, Bokèo Province Similar Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge, Second Thai–Lao Friendshi, Third Thai–Lao Friendshi, Thanaleng Railway Station, Vat Phou | ||
The Fourth Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge (Thai: สะพานมิตรภาพ ไทย-ลาว แห่งที่ 4, [sàpʰaːn míttràpʰâːp tʰaj laːw hɛ̀ŋ tʰîː sìː]; Lao: ຂົວມິດຕະພາບ ລາວ-ໄທ, [kʰǔə mittapʰâːp láːw tʰaj]) is a highway bridge over the Mekong River that links the Chiang Khong District of Thailand and Ban Houayxay in Laos. The bridge opened to the public on 11 December 2013. The bridge was the last section of Asian Highway 3 to be built.
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Size and location
The bridge is 630 meters long (with a main span of 480 meters) and is 14.7 meters wide. It is about 10 kilometers from Amphoe Chiang Khong (Chiang Khong District), in the northeastern part of Chiang Rai Province, in northern Thailand, and about 12 kilometers from Ban Houayxay, the capital of Bokeo Province, in northwestern Laos.
North of the bridge, a six kilometer service road connects the bridge to Laotian highway R3A. In the south, a three kilometer service road connects the bridge to the Chiang Khong-Thoen Highway and Route 1129 in Thailand.
History
The bridge was jointly financed by the governments of Thailand, Laos, and China, along with the Asia Development Bank, to boost trade and development of the Greater Mekong Subregion. About 1,900 million baht was budgeted for the project.
On 12 December 2012, a ceremony marking the joining of the two sides of the bridge was held in Houayxay, Laos. A year later, on 12 December 2013, the bridge was officially opened at a ceremony presided over by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.
Chiang Khong was designated as a Special Economic Zone in 2015.