Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway 83km long, only 2 lanes, no hard median, overloaded

According to a document from the People's Committee of Lao Cai province, the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway, the section from Yen Bai to Lao Cai, is currently overloaded, degraded, and only has two lanes, lacking a solid median divider.

The Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway only has 2 lanes on the Yen Bai - Lao Cai section.

On March 6th, the People's Committee of Lao Cai province issued document No. 1048 requesting the expansion of the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway (Yen Bai - Lao Cai section) to a 4-lane scale, in accordance with Prime Minister 's Directive No. 16/CD-TTg dated February 21, 2024.

According to the People's Committee of Lao Cai province, the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway has been in operation since 2014, with the Noi Bai - Yen Bai section having been invested in with a scale of 4 lanes.

However, on the Yen Bai - Lao Cai section, which is approximately 121km long, only about 38km has been upgraded to a 4-lane road, while the remaining 83km only has a 2-lane road surface and lacks a solid median divider. After 10 years of operation, the road surface has deteriorated, while traffic volume on the route is currently increasing, posing a high risk of traffic accidents.

According to calculations by the Vietnam Expressway Investment and Development Corporation (VEC), with its current scale, this section of road cannot meet traffic demand and is expected to exceed its capacity by 2025.

For the reasons mentioned above, in a document dated March 6th, the People's Committee of Lao Cai province requested the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises and the Ministry of Transport to report to the Prime Minister for consideration and priority investment in upgrading and expanding the Yen Bai - Lao Cai expressway section to 4 lanes according to the plan that VEC has reported to the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises, and to implement it immediately in the 2024-2025 period.

On the same day, March 6th, the People's Committee of Lao Cai province held a serious meeting to review and assess the extremely serious traffic accident (which resulted in the deaths of four teenagers due to driving against the flow of traffic) that occurred on February 14th on the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway (at Km 261+700, in area 2, Duyen Hai ward, Lao Cai city). The meeting was chaired by the Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee, Khuat Viet Hung, and the Chairman of the People's Committee of Lao Cai province, Trinh Xuan Truong.

Mr. Khuat Viet Hung speaks at the meeting on March 6th. Photo courtesy of Lao Cai Newspaper.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Khuat Viet Hung suggested that relevant authorities should investigate, clarify, and hold accountable the organizations and individuals involved in particularly serious traffic accidents.

VAN PHUC

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cao-toc-noi-bai-lao-cai-83km-chi-2-lan-xe-khong-dai-phan-cach-cung-dang-qua-tai-post729558.html