8 mile junction flyover bridge opens to traffic

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bird eyes view of the 8 mile junction flyover. Photo: Tin Hla Maung

Bird eyes view of the 8 mile junction flyover. Photo: Tin Hla Maung

Bird eyes view of the 8 mile junction flyover. Photo: Tin Hla Maung

THE 8 mile junction flyover bridge, which cost K15.5 billion, was opened to traffic yesterday ahead of the designated schedule.

It has been constructed at the junction of KabaAye Pagoda road and Kyaikwaing  Pagoda road on Pyay road.

The total length of the flyover constructed by the Crown Advanced Construction company is 525 metres . It has four traffic lanes. It is a type of steel plate plus steel box girder bridge and can withstand 75 tonne loads.

“The opening of the flyover 15 days ahead of designated schedule can relieves the crisis of the traffic jam on this road.” “While constructing the flyover, traffic jams occurred at this junction. Now no one need to wait at the traffic light. The drivers can easily drive along the Pyay road to the new highway including Yangon International Airport,” said U Than Swe, the Project Director of the Crown Advanced Construction company.

The bridge will ease the traffic congestion to a certain extent, said Police Captain Soe Naimg of No 47 Traffic Police

“I was disappointed with the traffic jams before, now with the of the opening of the bridge it will make us all happy.” said a resident near the 8 mile junction flyover.—Soe Win (SP)

The Yaw Min Gyi Brick Monastery

Growing need to conserve Monastery of Yaw Min Gyi U Pho Hlaing

THE Yaw Min Gyi Brick Monastery, donated by Yaw Min Gyi U Pho Hlaing in 1866, in 1228 on the Myanmar Calendar requires conservation because of destruction caused by rain and wind.    

The monastery was burned down losing all its original wooden infrastructure and concrete rinceaux, there remained only the brick structure during the World War II as the Allied bombed in Mandalay in March 1945.

The wooden beams and floor of the monastery were replaced with concrete beams and concrete floor, and roofed with zinc sheets under the supervision of the Department of Archeology under the Ministry of Culture in December 1998. Myanmar artists created a rinceaux to match the original. In 2013, according to the instructions of the Ministry of Culture, the Department of Archeology carried out the work of installing a ceiling, a drainage around the monastery, the installation of doors and windows, Myanmar concrete rinceaux and wiring. The Ministry of Culture has designated the monastery as an ancient heritage building.

The Monastery should be renovated and have a garden to persuade tourists from abroad and home to come and visit, said a tourist guide.--Maung Pyi Thu (Mandalay)

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Tourist arrivals up in Mandalay

FROM the beginning of 2016, tourist arrivals have been on the rise in Mandalay, according to the Department of Hotels and Tourism Development of Mandalay Region.

Tourist arrivals have increased from October 2015 to March 2016.  Most tourists are American, French, German, Dutch, Japanese, Thailand and Chinese. The department expects 5 million tourists to come to Myanmar in 2016, and about 500,000 of them will travel to Mandalay and the Bagan Cultural Zone.

Mandalay International Airport is directly linked with Thailand, India and China. Over 120,000 tourists entered Mandalay in 2015 on direct flights from those countries.

Moreover, foreign travellers have been arriving at Mandalay by vehicles and motorbikes through the Mandalay-Muse Union highway and the Mandalay-Tamu highway.

Tourists coming to Mandalay visit to Myanansankyaw Golden Palace, Mandalay Hill, Maha Muni Pagoda, U Bein Bridge, the Golden Temple, Ahtumashi Monastery, the Thatahtarna Pagodas, gold embroidery businesses and gold foil businesses.—Thi Ko Ko

Fossilized lizard, 99 million years old, is a clue to 

'lost ecosystem'

Various lizard specimens are shown preserved in ancient amber from present-day Myanmar in Southeast Asia, in this handout photo provided by the Florida Museum of Natural History on March 5, 2016. A fossilized lizard found in Southeast Asia preserved in amber dates back some 99 million years, Florida scientists have determined, making it the oldest specimen of its kind and a ''missing link'' for reptile researchers. The lizard is some 75 million years older than the previous record holder, according to researchers at the Florida Museum of Natural History, who announced the finding this week. --REUTERS

By Laila Kearney

A fossilized lizard found in Southeast Asia preserved in amber dates back some 99 million years, Florida scientists have determined, making it the oldest specimen of its kind and a "missing link" for reptile researchers.
The lizard is some 75 million years older than the previous record holder, according to researchers at the Florida Museum of Natural History, who announced the finding this week.
It was found decades ago in a mine along with other ancient, well-preserved reptile fossils, but the U.S. scientists were able to analyze the finds only recently.
"It was incredibly exciting to see these animals for the first time," Edward Stanley, a member of the research team, said on Saturday. "It was exciting and startling, actually, how well they were preserved."
Scientists believe the chameleon-like creature was an infant when it was trapped in a gush of sticky resin while darting through a tropical forest in what is now Myanmar, in Southeast Asia.
The creature's entire body, including its eyes and colorful scales, is unusually well-preserved, Stanley said. The other reptiles trapped in the amber, including a gecko and an arctic lizard, were also largely intact.
Small reptiles have delicate bodies and typically deteriorate quickly, he said. Being encased in solid amber helped to lock the specimen together.
Stanley and other researchers used high-resolution digital X-ray technology to examine the creatures and estimate the age of the amber without breaking it.
The discovery will help researchers learn more about the "lost ecosystem, the lost world" to which the creatures belonged, Stanley said, and it may help researchers learn more about the creatures' modern relatives.
"It's kind of a missing link," Stanley said.--Reuters

'Ghostlike' octopus found in Pacific may belong to new species

An incirrate octopod is shown at a depth of 4,290 meters taken by a remotely operated underwater vehicle Deep Discoverer near Necker Island, or Mokumanamana, on the northwestern end of the Hawaiian Archipelago in this image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Hohonu Moana 2016, released on March 5, 2016. REUTERS

 NEW YORK | By Frank McGurty

An underwater research craft has spotted a "ghostlike" octopus that appears to belong to a previously unknown species on the ocean floor near Hawaii, a discovery that highlights how little is known about the deep sea, a U.S. zoologist said on Saturday.
The milky white creature, nicknamed "Casper the Friendly Ghost" by Twitter users, was caught on cameras mounted on the craft as it explored the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 4,290 meters, or about 2-1/2 miles, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
Describing the animal as an incirrate octopod, one of two main groupings of octopods, NOAA said it was the first time an incirrate was spotted so deep in the ocean.
"This animal was particularly unusual because it lacked the pigment cells, called chromatophores, typical of most cephalopods, and it did not seem very muscular," said Michael Vecchione, a research zoologist at NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service. Cephalopods belong to a biological class that includes octopuses, squid and cuttlefish.
"The deep sea is so poorly known that finding new or unexpected things happens fairly often," Vecchione said in an email, adding that he was excited by the images. "What is unusual is the opportunity to explore this deep."
The octopod "almost certainly" was one of a species never previously described by scientists, and it may well belong to a genus that has yet to be identified, wrote Vecchione, who is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
To be certain, he said in the email, scientists would need at least one specimen, and preferably several of them.
NOAA has posted a video on the website showing a pale, rounded form with expressionless eyes and languid tentacles resting on the ocean floor. Its appearance led some Twitter users to say it resembled the cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost.
Last week's discovery came during the first dive of the 2016 season from the Okeanos Explorer, a ship operated by NOAA that explores little-known parts of the oceans.
The remotely operated underwater vehicle Deep Discoverer came across the octopod near Necker Island, or Mokumanamana, on the northwestern end of the Hawaiian Archipelago. --Reuters