Thanlyin Bridge is the only operational bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

 linking the cities of Thanlyin

Thanlyin

Thanlyin is a major port city of Myanmar, located across Bago River from the city of Yangon. Thanlyin Township comprises 17 quarters and 28 village tracts. It is home to the largest port in the country, Thilawa port.-History:...

 and Yangon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

 in Myanmar

Myanmar

Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

. The bridge crosses the 1-km wide Bago river

Bago River

Bago River is a river of southern Burma. It flows through Bago and Yangon. It arises in the hills of the Pegu Range and flows into the Myitmaka River which below that point is called the Yangon River.-References:...

, about 42 km northeast from the river's confluence with Yangon river

Yangon River

The Yangon River is formed by the confluence of the Pegu and Myitmaka rivers and is a marine estuary that runs from Yangon emptying into the Gulf of Martaban of the Andaman Sea...

. The bridge has a single rail track in the middle, surrounded by a motor roadway on each side.

Highway 6 goes over the bridge and connects Yangon with the Thilawa port

Thilawa Port

Myanmar International Terminals Thilawa is a deep sea port 25 km south of Yangon in Myanmar. The international multi-purpose container port, fully owned by Hutchison Port Holdings , can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week....

 and Thanlyin Industrial Zone.

The bridge will soon be joined by the Thanlyin Bridge 2, which has been under construction since mid 2000s.

History

The bridge was built with Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 financial and technical assistance. The construction of the bridge began in 1985 but was suspended for about eight months from August 1988 to April 1989 due to unstable political conditions following the uprising

8888 Uprising

The 8888 Nationwide Popular Pro-Democracy Protests was a series of marches, demonstrations, protests, and riots in the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma...

 of 1988. The total cost of the bridge was 1.65 billion kyats, including a 207 million yuan

Chinese yuan

The yuan is the base unit of a number of modern Chinese currencies. The yuan is the primary unit of account of the Renminbi.A yuán is also known colloquially as a kuài . One yuán is divided into 10 jiǎo or colloquially máo...

interest free loan from China.