On February 21, the People’s Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province held a meeting to assess the causes, draw lessons, and implement solutions to overcome the consequences of a particularly serious traffic accident on the Cam Lo – La Son expressway.
The Cam Lo – La Son expressway project is part of the East North-South highway project Phase I, which is 98.3km long and passes through Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue provinces with a total investment of 7,669 billion VND. In the initial phase of operation, the road has two lanes with a road base width of 12m, while the passing section has a scale of 4 lanes with a road base width of 23m. In the completed phase, the road will have a scale of 4 lanes with a road base width of 23m.
On February 18, 2024, at Km48+200 on the Cam Lo – La Son expressway in Dong Thai Hamlet, Phong My Commune, Phong Dien District, Thua Thien Hue Province, a serious traffic accident occurred when a 7-seater car with license plate 36A-485.67 collided with a tractor with license plate 63C-136.59, resulting in the deaths of 3 people.
The initial investigation determined that the cause of the accident was the driver of the car with license plate 36A-485.67 violating the regulations. The Phong Dien district police are continuing to investigate for further clarification. The initial investigation results showed that the drivers of the vehicles involved in the accident did not violate alcohol concentration regulations, and the rapid drug tests for the drivers came back negative.
Therefore, at the meeting, in addition to analyzing the causes of the accident being the awareness of the participants, the relevant agencies also pointed out other causes stemming from deficiencies in the infrastructure of the Cam Lo – La Son expressway. Many opinions suggested that there are many dangerous overtaking points with a road base design that is “narrow, bottlenecked” such as at Km48+200 (the location of the particularly serious accident), posing traffic hazards that need to be addressed and rectified. In addition, the entire expressway should be equipped with lighting systems, speed and distance warning signs; research on the possibility of shortening the rigid barriers at the overtaking points…
At the meeting, Vice Chairman of the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People’s Committee Hoang Hai Minh requested the traffic police, the police in localities to continue and strengthen patrol, control the main traffic routes and intersections on the expressway, proactively detect and strictly handle violations of traffic safety regulations such as speeding, lane violation, overtaking without complying with regulations. Mr. Hai also emphasized that for infrastructure adjustment options that do not require lengthy procedures and capital, they should be implemented immediately; any shortcomings that can be addressed must be addressed immediately to ensure the safety of people and vehicles traveling on the Cam Lo – La Son expressway.
Recognizing the Cam Lo – La Son expressway as a national transportation route with high and continuously increasing traffic volume, the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People’s Committee proposed the Ministry of Transport to invest in upgrading the expressway to a complete 4-lane highway according to the planning to ensure smoother and safer traffic.
Vice Chairman of the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People’s Committee also requested the management and operation agencies of the Cam Lo – La Son expressway to coordinate in inspecting and appraising the traffic safety system, the structure of the traffic infrastructure of the accident-prone section; develop immediate and long-term solutions to thoroughly handle the existing deficiencies and shortcomings in the traffic infrastructure of the accident-prone section as soon as possible.
Regarding the Cam Lo – La Son expressway project, the Vietnam Road Administration stated that after a period of traffic organization on the road, some limitations have appeared.
Therefore, the Vietnam Road Administration assigned the leaders of the Second Road Authority, in coordination with the Ho Chi Minh Highway Project Management Board, the traffic police on the route, to review the traffic organization, road signs, and traffic safety infrastructure to overcome and improve traffic safety on the route. The on-site inspection and completion of the minutes are expected to be completed before or on February 25.
