The road is short, the suffering is long.

Residents have complained about the condition of Cau Dinh road (Hoa Loi ward, Ho Chi Minh City), which is dusty in sunny weather and muddy in rainy weather. Every day, this "road of suffering" has to endure the constant flow of trucks and containers, further deteriorating the road surface.

The path of suffering

Residents of Hoa Loi ward commonly refer to Cau Dinh road as "Ben Lon" road, "the road to the prison," or "the road to the vocational school" because this route starts from the Ben Lon intersection (National Highway 13) and leads to Detention Center No. 2 of the Ho Chi Minh City Police, Ben Lon market, the headquarters of the Professional Team of the Mobile Police Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Police, and several businesses and units.

The Cau Dinh road is in disrepair, affecting the lives of local residents.

The Cau Dinh road, approximately 2.4km long, has deteriorated after patching.

The road is only about 2.4km long, but it experiences a very high volume of traffic. Besides motorbikes, hundreds of trucks and container vehicles pass by in a continuous stream every hour. Because of this constant traffic, the road is deteriorating, directly impacting the lives of residents, detracting from the aesthetics, and jeopardizing traffic safety and urban security.

There are about 100 households living along the road.

According to our observations, many sections of the road are riddled with potholes and large depressions. In sunny weather, it's dusty, and in rainy weather, water accumulates in the potholes, making it very difficult for vehicles to pass. On days with heavy rain or at night, motorbikes often fall over while trying to avoid the waterlogged potholes and large depressions.

On sunny days, dust flies into people's houses in thick clouds.

Day and night, trucks and container vehicles constantly travel back and forth, "destroying" the road surface. Although the road serves the local community, the frequent passage of container trucks has caused it to deteriorate rapidly.

To reduce dust, residents water the road in front of their houses.

The trees planted in front of people's houses often accumulate dust on their leaves on sunny days. To reduce the dust, on dry, sunny days, Mr. NVT, a resident of neighborhood 2, often has to pump water to water the road in front of his house.

After the rains, the roads are flooded.

The road surface gradually deteriorated after enduring hundreds of vehicles passing by for hours.

Meanwhile, some roadside eateries and businesses are frustrated by the dust and foul odors emanating from potholes. The owner of a breakfast eatery has to constantly wipe down tables and chairs and cover food to minimize dust. Customers eating there are afraid to turn their heads towards the street for fear of dust flying directly into their faces.

Traffic flow is difficult, and many traffic accidents occur due to collisions and falls.

Ms. HTT, the owner of a roadside pharmacy, shared: “I rented this space to sell medicine because this area is bustling. However, the severely deteriorated road condition is affecting my business. I have to constantly clean the display cases and glass doors because there is so much dust. Occasionally, I hear about accidents and collisions caused by people trying to avoid potholes on the road.”

There are plans to widen the road.

The deterioration of this "road of suffering" has been ongoing for decades. In 2019, after repeated complaints from residents during voter outreach sessions, the road was repaired and patched up. However, after a few years... it's back to its old state.

Reporters captured images of Cau Dinh road in November 2024.

Discussing solutions to the deteriorating road conditions, Mr. Le Van Hong, Chairman of the Hoa Loi Ward People's Committee, said that the road is currently in a state of significant damage and the locality has a plan to invest in its repair in 2025. In the short term, the Ward People's Committee will mobilize social resources from businesses to repair the road, facilitating travel for residents.

And the current state of Cau Dinh road as of early November 2025.

According to Mr. Le Van Hong, the project to upgrade and expand the Cau Dinh road was approved by the People's Committee of Ben Cat City (before the merger). The current investor is the Ben Cat Area Investment and Construction Project Management Board.

Recently, the People's Committee of Hoa Loi Ward held three meetings with residents to disseminate information about the project and to encourage them to vacate and hand over the land for the project. However, there are still a few cases of non-compliance. The People's Committee of the ward will continue to persuade residents to reach a consensus and expedite the handover of the land for the project's implementation.

After completing the investment preparation steps, the project will be implemented from 2025 to 2028.

Cau Dinh Road (formerly Tan Dinh 016 Road) is approximately 2.4km long, starting at National Highway 13 and ending at the Hoa Loi Ward communal house. Around 100 households are expected to be relocated along both sides of the road. Approximately 16 businesses regularly transport goods along this route.

According to the approved project, the Cau Dinh route will have a hot-mix concrete pavement structure, a length of approximately 2.4km, a road width of 12m, a sidewalk width of 3m on each side, and a roadbed width of 18m. The total estimated investment is approximately 195 billion VND, of which the cost for compensation and relocation of structures is approximately 19.4 billion VND.

MOOD

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/con-duong-ngan-noi-kho-dai-post821721.html