Dragon River Bridge is a bridge spanning the Han River in Da Nang, Vietnam. The bridge is comprised of 3 steel arches supported by cables. The structure was designed to look like a dragon with a head that can breathe fire at one end. At a length of 666 meters, how long will this engineering marvel last in a life after people?
1 day after people: As the Vietnamese power grid ceases to function, the lights illuminating the bridge go out. Never again will the magnificent bridge breathe fire.
1 year after people: Rust and surface stains have started to form on the bridge. The water is slowly cracking through the small infractions of the concrete supports. The yellow dragon arch on the bridge stands just fine, although its color is slowly fading.
10 years after people: A typhoon is approaching Da Nang. High winds rip some of the decorative scales off the bridge. No major damage is sustained. At this point, the bright yellow color of the dragon has disappeared, leaving nothing but the rusting brown and orange that damages the arch.
25 years after people: The concrete deck of the bridge is starting to show signs of corrosion, while cracks have started to appear on the roadway. Any cars left on the bridge have started to decay as well, with some even starting to sink in some of the cracks. Despite the city environment nearby, small plants are starting to grow from the cracks of the bridge.
50 years after people: The coastal and tropical climate of the area has accelerated corrosion of the steel. The famous dragon head of the bridge succumbs to rust as the plates of steel fall apart. The magnificent dragon no longer decorates the already decaying bridge, which has started to break as well, with holes forming in the roadways, causing any cars above to plummet in the water. The concrete supports are cracking extensively, and the growing plants are not helping its case.
75 years after people: The cables supporting the arches finally fail, after years of water invasion and cracking in the concrete supports. The Dragon River Bridge that had once illuminated the night with its dragon breath, now gives its final breath, a groan as it collapses into the river.