VietNamNet Bridge – Uneven and potentially dangerous road surfaces on major national highways have alarmed motorists and authorities, who are concerned by the high risks posed to road safety.

Uneven and potentially dangerous road surfaces on major national highways have alarmed motorists and authorities, who are concerned by the high risks posed to road safety.— Photo anninhthudo

According to the Viet Nam Road Administration's latest survey, wheel erosion to the tarmac on National Highway 1 had become increasingly prominent, with large trenches developing.

The survey indicated that most damaged parts, chiefly in central region, included the route linking Nghe An Province's Vinh City to Quang Tri Province's Dong Ha City, the 70-km stretch from Thanh Hoa Province to Thua Thien Hue Province, the 90-km road from Da Nang City to Khanh Hoa City and the 16-km route from Ninh Thuan Province to Binh Thuan Province.

Nghe An Province's Ben Thuy Bridge, Thanh Tri Bridge in Ha Noi, National Highway 5 and the old National Highway 3 from Ha Noi to Thai Nguyen Province had also suffered similar damage.

Viet Nam's most modern expressway – Thang Long Boulevard in Ha Noi – was designed for average speeds of 70-120km per hour but drivers were scared to reach the maximum speed limit due to the damaged road, the survey found.

Speaking at an online meeting held by Giao thong van tai (Transport) newspaper on Monday, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said sinking roads with tyre tracks was a newly-emerging problem affecting both newly-opened roads and those which had been operational for decades.

"The ministry has been seeking measures to address the problem," he said.

Deputy head of the Viet Nam Road Administration's Construction Management Department Trieu Khac Dung said his office first detected the problem in 2009 but it became much more serious after a prolonged heat hit the central region two months ago.

On similar hilly routes, tracks were 10-15cm deep, he noted, adding that they had already been flattened to minimise the danger posed to vehicles.

"The sinking roads on National Highway 1 are partly caused by the recent hot weather and also by overloaded trucks," he said.

"We also considered other possible causes relating to building materials, quality of asphalt, the stones and techniques used to make asphalt concrete," he said, adding that now, it was difficult to ensure the quality of imported asphalt because the product did not have to undergo testing and its suppliers just needed to show a quality certificate.

Deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Bridge and Road Science Association Nguyen Ngoc Long agreed that the increased number of overloaded trucks and containers was a direct cause of the problems.

He also called for more detailed regulations on building materials and construction techniques.

Deputy head of the Transport Ministry's Department for Management of Transport Construction and Quality Le Thanh Ha added that designers and constructors needed to pay more attention to climate and geographical factors so that the work could be adapted to local conditions.

Deputy Minister Dong said that since the causes were yet to be identified, the first thing to do was to improve the quality of work.

"Constructors of on-going major road projects have to review designs and the materials used," he said, adding that investors and the project management board would take the bulk of responsibility if poor-quality work was discovered.

Source: VNS