In response to VTC News, the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board (Ministry of Transport) have confirmed that the unit has been assigned by the Ministry of Transport to prepare a feasibility report, conduct research, and propose the expansion of the Cam Lo – La Son expressway. Currently, the unit is working as quickly as possible on this task under the guidance of the Ministry of Transport’s leadership.
The Cam Lo – La Son expressway currently has only 2 lanes and every 10km there is a section with 4 lanes for vehicles to overtake each other. However, this design unintentionally creates dangerous “bottlenecks”.
“In the short term, the board will review the design documents for the phased stages, procedures for forest conversion, environmental impact assessment, and any shortcomings… Then, when the funding is allocated, the documents will be issued, and the plan to select consulting contractors will be implemented as prescribed. The design and document preparation time is relatively fast, it can be completed in about 1 month…”, said the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board.
Yesterday (March 16), Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai chaired the National Assembly’s Supervisory Delegation to monitor a number of North-South expressway projects, including the Cam Lo – La Son and Van Ninh – Cam Lo sections.
In the working session with the National Assembly’s Supervisory Delegation, Mr. Hoang Hai Minh – Deputy Chairman of the Thua Thien – Hue Provincial People’s Committee, said that there have been consecutive accidents on the Cam Lo – La Son expressway. In particular, the extremely serious accident on February 18, 2024, and the very serious accident on March 10, 2024, resulted in 5 deaths and 5 injuries.
In parallel with adding safety enhancements on the route, the Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board is also urgently completing the feasibility report to expand the Cam Lo – La Son expressway to 4 lanes.
Mr. Hoang Hai Minh believes that due to its flexibility and convenience, the traffic volume has increased much faster than projected during the design of the project. He added that the current traffic flow has reached the design capacity so an upgrade to 4 lanes is needed to ensure the operation for the period 2025 – 2030.
“According to the forecast data when planning the Cam Lo – La Son expressway project, in 2020 there were 4,578 vehicles/day, at night. By 2025, there will be 7,545 vehicles/day, at night. By 2030, there will be 12,751 vehicles/day, at night… Compared to the current National Road being operated with 4 lanes, the actual flow is 10,000-11,000 vehicles/day, at night, and there are signs of overload.”
At present, the traffic volume on the expressway has reached 6,000 vehicles/day, at night, which is close to the forecasted number of 7,545 vehicles by 2025. Therefore, upgrading to 4 lanes is suitable for the actual demand, suggested Mr. Hoang Hai Minh, Deputy Chairman of the Thua Thien – Hue Provincial People’s Committee.
Mr. Nguyen Danh Huy – Deputy Minister of Transport, said that the Prime Minister has instructed to study and mobilize resources to fully expand the entire Cam Lo – La Son route to 4 lanes.
Currently, the Ministry of Transport has made the decision to prepare a feasibility study report to expand to 4 lanes for the Cam Lo – La Son expressway phase 2 with a length of more than 98km. The estimated budget is about VND 7,000 billion.
The Ministry of Transport is recommending that the Government allocate funds from the excess revenue and carry out the construction urgently. If these policy mechanisms are approved, the project is expected to start construction at the end of 2024 and be completed in 2025.
The entire Cam Lo – La Son expressway is over 98 km long, and if expanded to 4 lanes, the total investment level is about VND 7,000 billion.
The Ministry of Transport is proposing that the National Assembly support and prioritize the allocation of funds to fully expand this expressway to 4 lanes.
Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai said that the Supervisory Delegation will thoroughly study the proposals of localities, report to the National Assembly, and also record information about difficulties and obstacles in the process of implementing the project…
