The junta has shortened the opening hours of two bridges at the two main northern entry and exit points of Mawlamyine City, the Mon State capital.

They are the Thanlwin Bridge-Mawlamyine over the Thanlwin River on Highway 8 that comes from Thaton, in Mon State to the north and the Ataran Bridge-Mawlamyine over the Ataran River on National Highway 85 that comes from the Karen State capital Hp-An, also to the north of Mawlamyine.

Previously the junta allowed traffic to cross the two bridges between 5:00 am and 9:00 pm every day, but as of 16 July 2025, the opening hours were made two hours shorter and changed to between 6:00 am and 8:00 pm.

The junta claimed it was reducing the bridges’ opening hours for security reasons, despite there being no fighting in the area, according to a Mawlamyine City resident who believes that the shortened opening hours for the bridges could cause difficulties for travellers and be inconvenient for vendors who typically start work early in the morning.

He said: “Mainly, it’s the vendors who usually work early in the morning that’ll be affected. But locals can’t really complain since the junta says it’s for security reasons. And with the bridge closing earlier in the evening, express buses will also face pressure to drive faster just to make it to Mawlamyine on time.”

Though the junta claims to have reduced the bridges’ opening hours for security reasons and has also tightened up security checks at all of Mawlamyine City’s entry and exit points, it has still failed to arrest any criminals who have committed crimes such as motorcycle thefts and robberies and prevent them from escaping from Mawlamyine City as thefts increase across Mon State.