The Cao Bo-Mai Son Expressway currently boasts four lanes. Photo: Son Van/Tin Tuc Newspaper
The total investment for the Cao Bo-Mai Son Expressway expansion project is VND 1,875 billion from the central budget (for the 2021-2025 period, the Prime Minister has assigned additional medium-term public investment plans funded by the central budget for the 2021-2025 period from the common reserve corresponding to the central budget revenue increase in 2022 according to Decision No. 117/2024, and is expected to arrange a continuation in the medium-term public investment plan for the 2026-2030 period).
The expected capital plan according to the project implementation progress: For the period 2021-2025, about VND 1,200 billion will be arranged. For the period 2026-2030, about VND 675 billion is expected to be arranged.
Specifically, the Cao Bo-Mai Son Expressway expansion project starts at the intersection with the Cau Gie-Ninh Binh Expressway in Yen Bang commune, Y Yen district, Nam Dinh province. The project ends at the intersection with the Mai Son-National Highway 45 section, which is part of the construction project of several eastern North-South expressway routes in the 2017-2020 period, in Mai Son commune, Yen Mo district, Ninh Binh province.
The project is invested according to the standards of a grade 100-120 expressway, with a designed speed of 100-120 km/h. It involves investing in the expansion of two lanes on the left side of the existing road, with a road width of 15.25 m (ensuring a complete width of six lanes and a road width of 32.25 m). The route direction remains unchanged from the phased investment direction that has been constructed.
Along the expressway, there are a total of seven bridges; three of these bridges (Nam Binh Bridge, Dong Thinh Bridge, and Mai Son Bridge) have been invested in to ensure a width of six lanes, with a roughness layer added to the bridge surface. For the remaining four bridges (Cao Bo Bridge, Cam Bridge, National Highway 10 Overpass, and Quan Vinh Bridge), a bridge unit will be constructed on the left side of the route to ensure a width of six lanes.
Additionally, the intelligent transportation system (ITS) will be invested in according to technical standards, regulations, and current guidelines. Management and operation will be controlled centrally at the Traffic Management and Operation Center of the Mai Son-National Highway 5 Expressway or another expressway’s Traffic Management and Operation Center, as appropriate. Furthermore, vehicle weight inspection systems will be arranged at entry lanes to the expressway, along with U-turn lanes.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the project will enhance the operational capacity, meet the growing transport demand, reduce traffic accidents, and support the socio-economic development of Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh provinces. It will also contribute to the completion of the road network plan for the period of 2021-2030, with a vision towards 2050, and help achieve the goals of Resolution 30 of the Politburo on socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security in the Red River Delta region.
The Cao Bo-Mai Son Expressway, approximately 15.2 km long, is part of the eastern North-South Expressway project for the 2017-2020 period, which was completed and put into operation in 2022 with a limited four-lane expressway standard and a road width of 17 m. The project has completed site clearance with a planning scale of six lanes.
Previously, in August 2023, the Ninh Binh Provincial Department of Transport proposed to the Ministry of Transport to expand the Cao Bo-Mai Son Expressway to six lanes. This proposal was made due to the fact that after the opening of the Cao Bo-Mai Son Expressway with four limited lanes, many problems were exposed, and congestion often occurred during holidays and Tet.
