Some sections of the nearly 140km Da Nang - Quang Ngai Expressway, invested by the Viet Nam Expressway Corporation (VEC) with total investment of VND34.5 trillion (US$1.5 billion), including the Tuy Loan intersection, were damaged as soon as they were put into operation. Although the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and functional agencies have demanded VEC to fix defects along the route in a prompt fashion, this business and regular management and maintenance units have failed to make repair or upgrade at all.

Defects are seen at the Tuy Loan Intersection that is located at the beginning of the Da Nang - Quang Ngai Expressway. (Photo taken in May 2022). Photo: THANH LAN

Meanwhile, these damages are increasingly worsening, potentially posing a risk of traffic safety with the emergence of new accidents-prone hotspots.

The Tuy Loan intersection, located on National Highway 14B in Hoa Vang District, is at the beginning of the Da Nang - Quang Ngai Expressway. This site has been heavily damaged for many years, becoming an accident-prone hotspot.

On April 18, 2021, a fatal collision between a container truck and an electric bicycle at the Tuy Loan intersection left a woman dead.

Previously, on April 5, 2019, there was a serious accident during which the driver of a scooter was hit by a dump truck and died on the spot.

Driver Pham Dinh Quy, residing in Hoa Vang District said that the Tuy Loan intersection area is currently quite damaged.

Not only at this intersection, but the two ends of the route towards the Hoa Vang District Administrative Centre and the Truong Son Street are also full of potholes.

Many big potholes once appeared at this intersection, leaving rainwater-filled holes, especially along an approach section to the Expressway, causing difficulties and annoyance for road users and posing a potential risk of crashes here.

More recently, the Directorate for Roads of Viet Nam (DRVN) has asked VEC to take urgent measures to fix defects on the Da Nang - Quang Ngai Expressway for the sake of traffic safety.

VEC said that it had directed the consultants to prepare a survey package, make an economic and technical report to repair damage to sections, including the Tuy Loan Intersection. However, the repair work faced many difficulties due to a shortage of capital.

By the end of April, VEC held a re-bidding to select contractors for the repair of damaged road surface at the Tuy Loan Intersection.

It is expected that, within the ongoing second quarter of 2022, VEC and would-be contractors will sign a contract to execute the repairs.

Reporting by THANH LAN – Translating by A.THU