The An Khê Pass was continuously congested for hours, with cars lined up for more than 10km on National Highway 19.

On the afternoon of January 27th, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hong Vang, Deputy Head of the Traffic Police Department of Binh Dinh Provincial Police, stated that the unit is still regulating traffic through An Khe Pass on National Highway 19 (bordering Gia Lai and Binh Dinh provinces), which has been congested since the evening of January 26th following an incident where a truck overturned and blocked the road.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hong Vang, at approximately 10:30 PM on January 26th, a truck carrying wood chips was traveling from Gia Lai to Quy Nhon. While descending the An Khe pass, the truck sank deep into a section of unpaved road (a section of road that had been dumped by the Vietnam Road Construction Company during the upgrading of National Highway 19), almost completely blocking the road and causing a traffic jam of over 10km on National Highway 19.

A line of vehicles stretching approximately 10km stretched from the foot to the summit of the pass in both directions, causing immense frustration for road users and drivers alike during the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year).

The line of vehicles stretched for about 10km from the foot of the pass to the top.

" Following the incident on the evening of January 26th, the traffic police force of Binh Dinh province had to deploy excavators to clear the mountain and widen the road surface in order to move the damaged truck and trailer to the side of the mountain so that other vehicles could pass ," Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hong Vang said.

By approximately 0:30 AM on January 27th, traffic on National Highway 19 through An Khe Pass had been restored to one lane. By 9:00 AM the same day, the tractor-trailer had been removed from the scene, but the amount of wood chips spilled onto the road after the accident had not yet been cleared, causing vehicles traveling through An Khe Pass to move very slowly.

At 11 am, hundreds of buses, trucks, containers, and cars lined up in a long queue, inching forward little by little, creating a traffic jam that stretched from An Khe town (Gia Lai province) to Dong Pho town (Tay Son district, Binh Dinh province).

On the afternoon of January 27th, the construction unit proceeded to lay crushed stone on the road surface at several locations that were experiencing subsidence or were at high risk of subsidence. Simultaneously, they reinforced and widened the road surface at several curved and arched sections on the An Khê pass, ensuring smooth traffic flow without congestion.

The An Khê pass was finally reopened to traffic in both directions around 5 PM.

According to authorities, there have been four serious traffic jams on An Khe Pass this week, each lasting more than 12 hours.

Earlier, at around 3:00 AM on January 25th, a tractor-trailer passing through An Khe Pass got stuck in the mud, causing a complete traffic jam. It wasn't until around 3:45 PM that same day that National Highway 19 through An Khe Pass was reopened to two-way traffic.

The 8-kilometer-long An Khe Pass is considered the most dangerous section of National Highway 19, with frequent incidents and accidents, especially at night. The pass is currently being widened from 7 meters to 9 meters with a total investment of 600 billion VND.

According to authorities, the reason for the continuous traffic congestion on this mountain pass over the past week is that the An Khe pass section is currently under construction as part of the project to enhance transportation connectivity in the Central Highlands region. While laying the crushed stone base and preparing for asphalt paving, there was continuous heavy rain, causing the road under construction to become waterlogged.

In addition, the high volume of traffic causes road subsidence, resulting in muddy sections and making it difficult for heavy trucks to move, easily leading to traffic congestion.

According to a leader of the Traffic Police Department of Binh Dinh province, Duong Viet Company is constructing four sections of the An Khe mountain pass as part of the National Highway 19 upgrade project. However, the company has encroached on more than 60% of the road surface, narrowing it to only enough space for one car to pass in both directions (uphill and downhill).

Furthermore, during construction, the contractor dumped mountain soil onto the road surface. When it rained, this caused slippery conditions with no traction, making it easy for vehicles to sink deep into the soil, posing a significant safety hazard.

Nguyen Gia

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