Close-up of 200 km of 'white' highway with rest stops and gas stations

TPO – It has been open to traffic for more than a year and has been directed by the Government many times, but to date, the rest stops and fuel stations on the North-South Expressway from Ninh Binh to Ha Tinh have not been built. This causes stress for many drivers when traveling on the 2-lane expressway, with a length of more than 200 km.

Recently, the Ministry of Transport has organized the implementation and opened to traffic 4 component expressway projects: Mai Son (Ninh Binh) - National Highway 45, National Highway 45 - Nghi Son, Nghi Son - Dien Chau, Dien Chau - Bai Vot (Ha Tinh).

All four projects have a total length of more than 200 km. According to the plan, there will be 3 rest stops built at the Mai Son - National Highway 45, Nghi Son - Dien Chau, Dien Chau - Bai Vot sections, but to date, no stations have been built or completed.

Because the highway has only 2 lanes on each side (no emergency lane), no rest stops, no fuel stations, having to drive long distances on the highway, especially for long-distance vehicles, causes difficulties and stress for many drivers.

To ensure safety for people and vehicles and create synchronization, in 2023 and the first months of 2024, the Government has requested at least 3 times relevant ministries and branches, the Project Management Board of the Ministry of Transport to complete the above rest stops, but currently no stations have been built.

The Mai Son - QL45 expressway project was completed and opened to traffic the earliest (April 30, 2023), but more than a year has passed and there are still no rest stops or fuel stations.

To help people stop their vehicles temporarily to rest and use the restroom, a makeshift rest stop on the planned rest stop site, without any accompanying services, was built by the investor, the Thang Long Project Management Board.

However, due to the small area, only a few cars can be parked, so most large trucks cannot access.

At the Nghi Son – Dien Chau and Dien Chau – Bai Vot expressway projects (opened to traffic on September 2, 2023), investors and project enterprises here also arranged temporary rest shelters for drivers similar to the Mai Son – National Highway 45 expressway. However, due to temporary construction, service capacity is very limited.

At the Nghi Son – Dien Chau and Dien Chau – Bai Vot expressway projects, the land has been planned to build rest stops, but this project has not yet been constructed.

The North-South Eastern Expressway, both phase 1 (2017-2020) and phase 2 (2021-2025), has a total of 21 rest stops, of which phase 1 has 10 rest stops. However, at the time of opening to traffic 11 projects in phase 1, the investors (project management boards, Ministry of Transport) and the investor had only completed the road with a width of 2 lanes, no emergency lanes, and no rest stops or fuel stations.

Responding to the issue of the lack of rest stops and fuel stations on highways, a representative of the Vietnam Expressway Administration, Ministry of Transport, said that the main reason is that the implementation of these items requires selecting separate investors. In addition, many localities have not yet handed over the entire cleared land, and when implementing, they are stuck with some new regulations of the new Land Law...

Regarding the implementation of rest stops on the North-South Expressway, a representative of the Vietnam Expressway Administration said that by October 2024, 8 stations in phase 1 had selected investors to participate in investment and construction. Therefore, for the North-South Expressway phase 1, including the Ninh Binh - Ha Tinh section, the Administration has requested investors and construction units to basically complete the above 8 rest stops before the Lunar New Year this year, including essential works at the rest stops such as parking lots, toilets, etc.

Tienphong.vn

Source: https://tienphong.vn/can-canh-200-km-cao-toc-trang-tram-nghi-cay-xang-post1682825.tpo