Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, Across The Mekong
4 December 2008

Note: The area of coverage in this IKONOS image is approximately 3.2 km x 3.2 km.
The reduced resolution image on display has undergone compression and so does not represent the true resolution of the original satellite image.

The 1174 m long Friendship Bridge was built in 1994 with Australian financing. This, the second bridge to be built over the Mekong River, joins Nong Khai in Thailand with Tha Na Leng in Lao PDR, about 20 km southeast of Vientiane. The bridge carries double lanes of motorized traffic and footpaths, with space in the centre for a train line in the future. The wide Mekong here flows over a thin layer of alluvium with fluctuating depths and changing channel pattern between seasons. Large sand banks and midchannel bars are exposed during the dry season; the river banks being partially visible in the image. It is claimed that over this stretch of the Mekong, large balls of fire rise after dusk from the river and float gently into the air before disappearing. Central Nong Khai is located 3 km to the east, but ribbon development along the river bank has spread up to the bridge. Less urbanization and more paddy fields are visible on the Laotian side of the river.