Bridge on National Highway 14D is degraded, Quang Nam proposes repair

Many trees — Many bridges on National Highway 14D cannot withstand the increasing traffic density of heavy trucks. Photo: KHAI KHIEM

Worrying situation

Deputy Director of the Department of Construction - Mr. Tran Ngoc Thanh said that the traffic on National Highway 14D is currently still at a high level, about 500 vehicles/day and night, mainly 6-axle heavy trucks (ore trucks) traveling, so the road is very damaged. Many sections are left with only dusty ground causing environmental pollution, muddy when it rains, affecting all aspects of people's lives.

In particular, some bridges on the route have been damaged and are at risk of not ensuring safety. Specifically, these bridges include: Ca Dang, Suoi Da, DakRing, A Mo and Khe Dum bridges. Therefore, on May 27, 2025, the Department of Construction chaired, together with the Provincial Economic Zones and Industrial Zones Management Board, the Provincial Traffic Police Department, the Nam Giang District People's Committee and the road management units to organize a site inspection to support finding solutions to ensure traffic safety.

A working group from the Department of Construction and related sectors and units inspected the current status of damaged bridges on National Highway 14D. Photo: KHAI KHIEM

Actual inspections showed that the bridge surface coatings of the four Ca Dang bridges (km5+185; 15m long through Ta Bhing commune), Suoi Da bridge (km26+160; 24.5m long through Ta Po commune), DakRing bridge (km40+297; 140.31m long through Cha Val commune), and A Mo bridge (km56+567; 107m long through La Dee commune) were completely damaged, with many potholes despite being repaired many times. The expansion joints were damaged; the approach roads at both ends of the bridge were muddy and sunken, making it difficult for vehicles to travel. Ca Dang bridge also had large cracks on the left side of the abutment at the beginning of the route, showing signs of separation from the abutment body.

The most worrying is Khe Dum bridge (km70+508; 2x12m span through La Dee commune), where the entire asphalt layer of the bridge deck and the 6-10cm thick reinforced concrete layer have been completely damaged, exposing the steel reinforcement. The joint between the two T-shaped girders (on the second span) is exposed; the joint at the middle girder and the edge girder (on the right) has a hole; 2 expansion joints have been completely damaged. The left side of the abutment at the end of the route has a large crack, showing signs of separation from the abutment body, posing a risk of not ensuring safety when heavy trucks pass by.

Urgent repair needed

QL14D connects Ho Chi Minh Road to Nam Giang International Border Gate. The entire route is severely degraded and needs to be upgraded and renovated. Currently, QL14D route has been handed over by the Central Government to the province for management and is carrying out procedures for the investment project to renovate and upgrade (expected to start construction at the end of 2025).

However, what is needed now is to find a solution to fix the damage of the 5 bridges mentioned above to ensure safety. For Khe Dum bridge, the Department of Construction recommends that it be inspected to re-determine the safe operating load and temporarily repaired to ensure traffic. While waiting for the inspection of Khe Dum bridge, it is allowed to reduce the operating load from no load restriction sign to only allowing trucks with a carrying capacity of no more than 25 tons to circulate to ensure the safety of the project.

2(1).jpg — The 6-10cm thick reinforced concrete layer of Khe Dum bridge deck has been severely damaged, exposing the steel reinforcement. Photo: KHAI KHIEM

The Department of Construction said that with the limited load capacity mentioned above, trucks carrying essential goods can still operate normally, so it will not affect local traffic demand. The cost for inspection and temporary repair of Khe Dum bridge is about 1 billion VND (returning the cement concrete layer of the bridge deck).

For Ca Dang, Suoi Da, DakRing and A Mo bridges, temporary repairs are being carried out by constructing bridge surface coatings and expansion joints to limit damage. The estimated cost of repairing these bridges is about 1 billion VND (asphalt pending the implementation of the project to renovate and upgrade National Highway 14D).

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/cau-tren-quoc-lo-14d-xuong-cap-quang-nam-kien-nghi-sua-chua-3156160.html