Inadequate at the gateway to the highway

Risk of traffic safety

Recorded on National Highway 27B on the morning of May 8, in just 2 minutes, dozens of large vehicles were running back and forth. Trucks and container trucks from National Highway 1 entered National Highway 27B to turn onto Cam Lam - Vinh Hao Expressway; large trucks carrying vegetables and fruits ran from Ninh Thuan and Lam Dong to National Highway 1; not to mention a large number of passenger cars and small cars running continuously. The road surface is narrow, but large vehicles still follow each other to accelerate and speed on this route, despite the fact that this is a densely populated residential area with many students passing by.

Large vehicles run continuously on Highway 27B.

Local people still have not forgotten the traffic accident that occurred at 10:00 a.m. on January 16 at the intersection of National Highway 1 and National Highway 27B, Hoa Diem village (Cam Thinh Dong commune). At that time, a truck with license plate 79C-067... driven by Mr. NHP (residing in Phan Rang - Thap Cham city) when turning from National Highway 1 onto National Highway 27B hit a woman riding a motorbike in the same direction, causing her to die on the spot. Authorities determined that the driver was at fault for not observing when changing lanes. "National Highway 27B used to be quiet, but now trucks and container trucks are running at full speed, the loud noises always startle me when I sell coffee on the side of the road," said Ms. Huynh Thi Hoa (living next to National Highway 27B, Hoa Diem village). Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh in the same village worried: "I dare not let my child go to school by bicycle. Many times two big vehicles pass each other, honking loudly, causing traffic participants to be startled and lose control of the wheel...".

The leader of the Road Traffic Police Team (Traffic Police Department of the Provincial Police) said that since the district police were dissolved, the control of this route has been taken over by the Cam Ranh Regional Traffic Police Team. Since March, the team has handled 24 violations, including 18 cases of speeding and 3 cases of illegal lane changes. According to an officer of the Cam Ranh Regional Traffic Police Team, because the section from the expressway overpass to National Highway 1 has many turns, there is no maximum speed limit; while the section from the expressway overpass towards Ninh Thuan province has a maximum speed limit of 50km/h. The traffic police force installed speed limit signs, but at night, drivers broke them or sprayed black paint to erase the numbers. There are no cameras to fine drivers on this section of road, while the team only has 5 people in charge of the entire area, and despite continuous patrols, they cannot control everything.

Proposal to upgrade the route

After the two expressways Nha Trang - Cam Lam and Cam Lam - Vinh Hao were put into operation, the Provincial People's Committee sent a document to the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry of Construction) requesting investment in expanding National Highway 27B from the intersection of National Highway 1 to the Nha Trang - Cam Lam expressway branch. This route is currently 1.2km long, about 6m wide, has only 2 lanes and is not included in the initial expansion design of the expressway project. The scale, number of lanes and road surface width of National Highway 27B cannot meet the traffic demand connecting National Highway 1 to the expressway, causing traffic congestion during rush hours, with a very high risk of traffic safety. Therefore, when the traffic volume increased after the expressway was put into operation, National Highway 27B was often congested, with potential risks of accidents. The expansion to 4 lanes is necessary to ensure traffic safety and smooth connection between National Highway 1 and the expressway, serving socio-economic development.

Container trucks running on National Highway 27B with narrow lanes make people worry about traffic accidents.

The traffic problems on National Highway 27B have also been summarized by the Provincial National Assembly Delegation and sent to the Central agencies by voters' recommendations. Recently, the Ministry of Construction has responded to voters' recommendations in writing, agreeing on the policy of expanding the route and stating that National Highway 27B will be decentralized to the province for management according to the new Road Law. However, due to difficulties in capital sources, it is not possible to allocate large investment funds for the 2021-2025 period. In the immediate future, the Ministry of Construction has assigned the Vietnam Road Administration to allocate more than 6 billion VND for maintenance and repair of the route in 2023-2024; an additional 7 billion VND is expected in 2025. The expansion of the entire route can be considered in the investment plan for the 2026-2030 period if the locality proactively balances capital.

Large trucks passing by occupy almost the entire roadway of National Highway 27B.

According to Mr. Nguyen Hoat - Vice Chairman of Cam Ranh City People's Committee, the city has repeatedly proposed to expand this route but has not been resolved. Meanwhile, the situation of encroachment on sidewalks and vehicles stopping and parking randomly on the route, the section passing through Hoa Diem village has increased the risk of accidents. The city has directed Cam Thinh Dong commune to handle violations of traffic safety corridors, and at the same time requested the provincial police to increase patrol forces and strictly handle violations of speed and load on this route.

Van Ky

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/xa-hoi/202505/bat-capnoi-cua-ngo-vao-cao-toc-6c22794/