Workers sweat through the night to resurface Hanoi’s iconic Long Bien Bridge

By Giang Huy June 2, 2017 | 01:11 am PT

The bumpy trip over the Red River should be smooth sailing when work is completed on the 115-year-old bridge.

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Long Bien Bridge was completed in 1902 with lanes for traffic running on both sides of a railway track. The bridge spans around two kilometers across the Red River and is a historic landmark.

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Shirtless workers dig up the old surface on a hot summer night. They are set to replace it with cold asphalt, a material said to be easier to use and more efficient and environmentally friendly than hot asphalt.

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Chunks of the old surface are removed.

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Bags of cold asphalt are laid out on the road.

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The workers work every day from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m., when they have to return the bridge to vehicles.

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Given the narrow lanes of less than two meters, it's difficult to fit heavy machinery onto the bridge, so most of the work is done manually.

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A road roller flattens out the new surface. Engineers at the site said the material suits a tropical climate as it does not deform in hot temperatures.

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Workers rush through the night as a freight train crosses the bridge. The new surface should be completed by the end of this year.