A section connecting with busy Nguyen Luong Bang Street at the southern end of the Nam O road bridge (commonly known as Ba Tan slope, in Hoa Hiep Nam Ward, Lien Chieu District, Da Nang), has emerged as a traffic accident ‘blackspot’ which highlights a severe bottleneck and a sharp curve obscuring road users’ vision. 

The accident-prone section connecting with busy Nguyen Luong Bang Street at the southern end of the Nam O road bridge

It is worth concerning that to date upgrade work has yet to start to handle this bottleneck for the sake of traffic safety.

According to the Ministry of Transport, a location will be deemed an accident ‘black pot’ if at least two fatal accidents, or four normal crashes in which the victims are injured, occur there in a period of 12 months.

According to the latest figures released by of the Hoa Hiep Nam Ward Police, since mid-2018, 5 serious and light traffic accidents has occurred at this sharp curve, leaving 2 dead and 2 injures.

Nguyen Thi Thu Van, a 60-year-old female resident at 986 Nguyen Luong Bang, opposite the Ba Tan slope, has witnessed most of the traffic accidents at this ‘blackspot’. “It is an issue of deep concern”, said Van.

Although sufficient many traffic signs and bans on large trucks have been installed at this crash-prone section, no traffic improvements have been seen to date, in the face of a large number of cars, trucks, and motorbikes travelling through this site back and forth.

Lieutenant Colonel Bui Ngoc Anh, the Head of the Hoa Hiep Nam Ward Police, blamed drivers’ carelessness for most of the already-happened crashes, apart from the adverse impact of the slopping curve.

“We have been increasing patrols and inspections under our jurisdiction to prevent vehicles from being parked illegally along the both side of the crash-prone section in order to avoid traffic conflicts. As for a thorough resolution, it is an urgent need for the municipal authorities to accelerate the upgrade project here”, said Lieutenant Colonel Anh.

The municipal administration has given the green light to the implementation of the 1st stage of a project to eliminate this traffic accident ‘blackspot’.

Accordingly, focus will be on relocating some residential houses out of the dangerous site, widening the road surface, arranging the median strip, planting trees, installing additional lighting and re-arranging traffic in a more effective manner.

The city’s Management Board of Industrial and Civil Engineering Construction and Investment Projects will be the project’s developer.

Mr Nguyen Nhuong, the Vice Chairman of Lien Chieu District People's Committee (PC), said his agency has repeatedly urged the municipal PC to accelerate the procedures for deploying the project, and soon grant funds for compensation work.

Besides, the district authorities have also agreed with the shutdown of the intersection between the soon-to-be-upgraded section with a railway crossing nearby to ensure traffic safety here.