On February 20th, Minister Nguyen Van Thang chaired a meeting to implement the Prime Minister’s directive on addressing the severe consequences of the recent serious traffic accident on the Cam Lo – La Son expressway in Thua Thien Hue province.
After hearing the opinions of the relevant agencies and units, Minister Nguyen Van Thang concluded that the operation and exploitation of the Cam Lo – La Son expressway in recent times have been effective in promoting economic and social development, especially in reducing traffic accidents.
Minister Nguyen Van Thang instructs relevant units to listen to and incorporate feedback from the press and the public in order to better organize traffic on the segmented expressways (Photo: Ta Hai).
Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang asserted that during the period before 2020, due to limited investment resources for transportation infrastructure, some projects had to be phased in, including sections with 2 lanes. Therefore, the current traffic organization plan has been developed and implemented to suit the phased development.
Based on the actual operation of the 2-lane expressways and the recent serious traffic accident on the Cam Lo – La Son expressway, Minister Nguyen Van Thang requested the relevant units to listen to and incorporate feedback from the press and the public in order to immediately review and report on the most optimal traffic organization plan with the existing infrastructure.
Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang demanded that immediate steps be taken to identify tasks that need to be done to ensure both efficient operation and accident prevention until the road is expanded according to the plan. Organizing traffic on the road scientifically and ensuring safety is the most important issue.
The leaders of the Ministry of Transport assigned the Vietnam Road Administration to lead together with the Management Board of the Ho Chi Minh Road project to urgently inspect and review the entire road, promptly addressing any shortcomings to ensure safety for vehicles.
The Vietnam Road Administration will review infrastructure-related technical issues, such as requesting telecommunication units to provide mobile coverage for the expressway.
Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang requested the units to expedite the preparation of investment plans for the second phase of the expressway expansion in order to report to the appropriate levels for approval and funding arrangement.
The lack of surveillance cameras has worsened the situation of reckless driving on the Cam Lo – La Son expressway
Regarding the progress of expanding the 2-lane and Cam Lo – La Son expressways, Mr. Nguyen Anh Dung – Deputy Head of the Planning and Investment Department of the Ministry of Transport, stated that since the end of 2019, the Ministry of Transport has decided to assign the Ho Chi Minh Road Management Board to study the investment for expanding from 2 to 4 lanes. The Board is completing the project settlement, and then will report to the Ministry of Transport and the National Assembly to arrange funding for the 4-lane expansion.
According to the Ho Chi Minh Road Management Board, the Cam Lo – La Son expressway project commenced in September 2019, completed construction, and was put into operation in December 2022.
By 2023, the project will be handed over to the Vietnam Road Administration for the management of 11 packages of work. By the end of the second quarter, the Board will complete the settlement of the tender packages. The Board is striving to submit the feasibility report for expanding the expressway to 4 lanes to the Ministry of Transport in March.
Currently, the Cam Lo – La Son expressway is 98 km long, with 2 lanes and 9 expanded areas for overtaking and a section that allows overtaking for up to 2 km. The system of signs and directions is fully arranged. Many sections of the road have broken lines to allow vehicles to pass each other.
