Viet Cong cut Australian supply route DPR/TV/1153

Vietcong engineers cut the Australian Force's main supply route this week when they blew up a bridge four miles south-west of its base at Nui Dat and one mile north of the province capital of Baria. Between 100 and 200 lb of explosive was placed on the two central piers of the concrete bridge at night and the explosion blew a gap of over 100 ft. The road over the bridge is Route 15, the main road to Saigon, and it is the road used to ferry war materials and equipment from the big logistics base at Vung Tau to the fighting force at Nui Dat, 16 miles north-east. While the Vietnamese overcome the inconvenience by boats, engineers from the 17th Construction Squadron start the task of assessing the damage and rebuilding. The Chief Engineer of the Force, Lieutenant Colonel M. Johnstone of Glenwaverley, Melbourne, Vic, was on the scene to take charge of the operation. A dozer is used to smash away the remaining bridge railing to prepare for a bailey bridge, but Col Johnstone, Lt Bill Frost of Lyons, ACT, an expert on bailey bridges, and the officer commanding the construction squadron, Major John Wertheimer of Townsville, Qld, are not sure if the remaining piers will carry the 45-ton weight and anxiously inspect them to see if they are damaged. It is decided, in consultation with the Americans, that the quickest way to reopen the route is to put in a floating bridge alongside. This would allow the engineers more time to overcome the technical problems connected with permanent repairs of the bridge. While the engineers wait for the Americans to bring in the emergency bridge, work is started on getting the debris cleared away so that there will be no delay when the main reconstruction begins. One of the requirements is to remove the broken bridge sections. Sapper Graeme Moulday of St Mary's, Sydney, NSW, exposes the steel reinforcing and Sapper Ken Usher of Kalgoorlie, WA, moves in with oxy-acetylene equipment to cut it away. The action is fast and controlled and the engineers expected to have the road open for traffic and the Australian supply convoys within 24 hours of the blast. Australian engineers in Vietnam race to repair the Task Force supply route after Vietcong blew a bridge one mile south of Baria, the province capital. Also identified: Sapper Tom Scott of East Perth, WA; Sapper Peter De Groot of Moonbulk, Vic.