Phnom Penh’s first pedestrian overpass bridge in the Por Sen Chey district on National Road 4 is starting to take shape ahead of its anticipated completion date in April.

A recent City Hall Facebook announcement stated that the overpass bridge, which has been under construction since mid-2016, was established to improve the safety of pedestrians in the area. Due to the busy highway which the overpass crosses, the City Hall said the area is prone to vehicle and passenger accidents.

According to City Hall spokesman Met Measpheakdey, the overpass bridge is on track to be completed before the Khmer New Year.

“As the City Hall has responsibility to construct the bridge for the people, we tried to invest and construct this new overpass project with two bridges at the beginning and another five bridges are in the next project,” the spokesman said.

The first bridge, which is located in front of the Hun Sen Champuvoin school, measures 50 metres in length and is 3.5 metres wide, standing six metres above the ground.

Measpheakdey said the project was one of many earmarked to improve safety in the city, adding that the overpass bridge would take ten months from start to finish to complete.

Measpheakdey admitted that while the construction had caused some inconveniences with the flow of traffic, he said the project would have long-lasting benefits.

“After the construction, we can ensure with confidence that people will benefit,” he said.

Por Sen Chey district governor Hem Darith said that people are excited to be able to use the country’s first pedestrian-only overpass while also calling for the construction of more bridges.

“We must build more bridges in the capital, especially around all main roads because it will effectively reduce traffic accidents,” he said.

City Hall could not disclose the total cost of the overpass bridge because it was unaware of the figure.