Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway: After 10 years of operation, there is still a lack of access roads for people.

After more than a decade of operation, the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway still has "gaps" in infrastructure, especially the system of residential roads. Due to the lack of residential roads, many households living along the road section through Lao Cai province are forced to cross temporary openings every day, sharing the road with trucks and container trucks running at high speed. The petitions of the people and local authorities that have lasted for many years have not yet received a satisfactory response from the investor.

Present in Vang village, Xuan Giao commune, Bao Thang district - a locality adjacent to IC17 intersection - there are currently 11 households facing many difficulties in daily life and travel for more than 10 years due to the lack of a residential road since the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway came into operation.

Every day, these households are “gambling” their own safety every time they have to leave their homes. Because to get out, they have no other choice but to use the route leading to and from the toll station, which is accompanied by trucks, passenger cars and container trucks traveling at high speed, posing a potential risk of traffic accidents.

Ms. Vu Thi Thanh, a resident of Vang village, said: “We have been here since before the highway was built. When the construction unit started building the road, we had our say, but we don’t understand why they built it and put it into use without building a road for people, forcing households to open access to the road leading to the IC17 intersection. Every time we go out, we have to go through a section of the road where trucks and cars run at a dizzying speed, and we can only pray that nothing happens. Over the years, we have repeatedly petitioned the authorities, but nothing has been resolved.”

Mr. Nguyen Van Lap, Chairman of the People's Committee of Xuan Giao Commune, Bao Thang District, said: "The lack of a residential road on the Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway section passing through the commune not only makes people's travel dangerous but also hinders the production capacity of many households, affecting their livelihoods and long-term lives."

According to the report of Bao Thang District People's Committee, of the 11 households mentioned above, 7 households regularly have to travel on the road leading from National Highway 4E to the expressway, while 4 households use the road leading from the expressway to return to National Highway 4E. Both groups of households do not have separate roads, forcing them to open an entrance to Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway.

Similarly, at the IC16 intersection area, through Tan Thuong commune, Van Ban district, there are still 15 households affected because when implementing the construction of the Noi Bai - Lao Cai highway, the investor did not pay attention to building residential roads, forcing households to travel on the route leading from the highway to return to National Highway 279. Therefore, it leads to the situation that motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians travel together with passenger cars, container trucks and tourist cars going up and down the highway at high speed every day, which is extremely dangerous.

Talking to us, Mr. Ha Van Hop, residing in Ngam Thin village, Tan Thuong commune, Van Ban district, indignantly said: "For more than 10 years, we have had to reluctantly open our own access road from IC16 intersection to the highway; children going to school and adults going to work all have to "risk their lives" to enter the access road, because many times when trucks are running at high speed, people can only leave their lives to chance."

Local people have repeatedly petitioned the commune, district and Vietnam Expressway Corporation, but everything is still "at a standstill". It is known that when the expressway is expanded, we hope that the authorities will have a plan to build a residential road so that people have their own safe way to travel.

According to statistics from the authorities, the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway section through Lao Cai province (over 72 km long) currently has at least 24 dismantled barriers. The main reason is that people do not have access roads, so they create their own entrances to the expressway for travel and production.

Specifically, there are currently about 58 households directly affected. The lack of access roads not only causes traffic insecurity but also affects livelihoods, people cannot access farming land, and transporting agricultural products is difficult.

In addition, auxiliary items such as fences, drainage culverts, guardrails, etc. have not been completed synchronously. This shows a lack of attention to the post-investment phase of the project. The problem has not only been reported now. Over the past 10 years, districts such as Bao Thang, Van Ban and Lao Cai city, together with the Department of Transport (now the Department of Construction), have repeatedly sent documents requesting the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) - the unit managing and operating the expressway - to coordinate in overcoming shortcomings, building access roads for people and completing infrastructure items. However, the result is still almost zero.

Mr. Do Ba Hung, Vice Chairman of Bao Thang District People's Committee said: "Currently, the locality has at least 19 households directly affected due to the lack of access roads, along with hundreds of other households unable to access cultivated land. We have sent many documents to VEC requesting to overcome these shortcomings, especially in areas such as Xuan Giao, Gia Phu, Son Ha... but so far there is no specific plan."

It is known that at the end of 2024, localities and functional branches of the province organized a review, the results showed that, in order to meet the travel needs and serve the production of households living along the Noi Bai - Lao Cai highway, it will be necessary to implement 23 feeder roads with a total length of nearly 20 km (section through Bao Yen, Van Ban, Bao Thang districts and Lao Cai city), including 8 feeder roads serving daily life with a length of 10.6 km and 15 feeder roads serving production with a length of about 8.95 km.

To clarify the difficulties in completing the residential access road on the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway (section through Lao Cai province), the reporter contacted the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) many times to register to work but was rejected.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Tran Xuan Hien, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction, said: From 2018 to now, the Department of Transport and now the Department of Construction have repeatedly sent written requests and worked directly with the leaders of the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry of Construction ) and VEC to promptly resolve the recommendations of Lao Cai voters regarding the handling of arising issues after the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway was put into operation, but the remaining problems have not been completely resolved.

On the Lao Cai side, in response to the urgent requests of the people, the Department of Construction has coordinated with the Department of Finance to propose to the Provincial People's Committee to invest in building a feeder road at IC16 and IC17 intersections and to resettle 18 households living too close to the highway. However, up to now, the measures have mainly stopped at the proposal level and have not been implemented in the field due to many problems.

It can be seen that the lack of clear division of responsibilities between the investor - the management unit of the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway and the locality in completing the residential access road has led to long-term problems. While people continue to wait, the relevant units are still "looking for a coordination mechanism" to implement.

It is known that in early April 2025, the Ministry of Construction submitted to the Government a plan to expand the Yen Bai - Lao Cai expressway from 2 lanes to 4 complete lanes with a total investment of more than 7,660 billion VND. This is an important opportunity to simultaneously handle the existing shortcomings of the route, including completing the residential road system - an essential factor to ensure safety and stabilize the lives of people in the project area. If residential items are not integrated into the upgrading process, there is a high risk that the "old refrain" will repeat itself: the expressway is modern but people on both sides of the route still have to endure many difficulties and dangers every day.

Presented by: Nguyen Hoang

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/cao-toc-noi-bai-lao-cai-sau-10-nam-van-hanh-van-thieu-duong-gom-dan-sinh-post402993.html