Major road becomes black spot, National Highway 14 degraded, potential for accidents

Photo caption — National Highway 14, the section passing through Tho Son commune, Dong Nai province, is seriously degraded. Photo: VNA

As important as it is, recently many sections of this road have deteriorated, with numerous potholes appearing, making many drivers frustrated because of the high risk of traffic insecurity.

According to the reporter, in the past month, National Highway 14, the section passing through Tho Son commune, Dong Nai province has been seriously degraded. Many drivers and people traveling through this area liken this to not a road but rather the craters of an inactive volcano. As a result, many passenger cars and trucks traveling through here have to weave from the right, to the left, and even to the opposite lane to avoid potholes.

According to driver Dao Quoc Dung, the entire National Highway 14 section through Dong Nai province (formerly Binh Phuoc ), Tho Son commune is the worst and most terrible road. The road section is about 5 km long and has many severely damaged spots. The road surface is bumpy, with some areas sinking 10-20cm deep. When it rains, these "potholes" turn into "ponds" causing motorbikes, cars, especially heavy trucks such as containers and tractors to move slowly and have difficulty avoiding them.

According to local residents, the road has been patched many times, but just a few days later, cracks and peeling appear again, making travel increasingly dangerous.

In Tho Son commune, although the maximum speed limit is 80km/h, it is not difficult to see long lines of vehicles moving slowly at a speed of about 10km/h just to overcome obstacles called potholes.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nghia (Tho Son commune, Dong Nai province) said: The road has been damaged for a long time but has not been repaired, while the number of heavy trucks and tractor trailers passing by has made the damage worse and more extensive. Some sections have been repaired rather temporarily, but after a few days, they are damaged again. People and drivers are fed up.

Not only in Tho Son commune, the same situation also appeared in many other areas on the route, especially the section passing through the center of Binh Phuoc ward and Dong Xoai ward, stretching from bridge 2 to Nha Bich bridge (bordering Dong Xoai ward and Nha Bich commune). Some sections passing through Bu Dang commune, Dong Tam commune, Chon Thanh ward or on the bridge surfaces were also damaged, but currently only temporarily patched.

According to Mr. Tran Xuan Tuc (living in Binh Phuoc ward), many sections of National Highway 14 are repaired and then damaged again. One place is patched, another is damaged; or even places that have been patched for a few days are damaged again, causing rocks to fly all over the road. Especially at night, it is very dangerous when big and small vehicles all want to 'avoid' potholes on the road but visibility is limited, making people very scared.

“Not to mention, almost a month ago, I was on my way home from work last night on this road and unfortunately fell into a pothole. Luckily, there was no large vehicle passing by so it didn’t cause a dangerous accident,” Mr. Tuc shared.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Duong Van Hieu, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction of Dong Nai province, said: National Highway 14 has recently been damaged quite a lot, causing traffic insecurity on the route. With the responsibility of a local management agency, the department has also sent a number of documents to the Road Management Area IV, the unit directly managing this route, to fix the above damage. In the coming time, the Department will continue to coordinate with the Road Management Area IV to direct relevant units to promptly fix the damage to ensure traffic safety on the route in accordance with regulations.

Speaking to a reporter from Vietnam News Agency, Mr. Hoang Van Phuong, Deputy Director of Road Management Area IV, said: Damaged sections on National Highway 14 are being actively repaired periodically by contractors and investors. Due to the impact of storms from number 7 to number 10, some sections are severely damaged. The Area has also directed contractors to scrape off the surface layer for sections that have been completely damaged to create smooth traffic; for hard, locally damaged sections, use suitable materials or aggregate to ensure temporary traffic.

“We are currently submitting to the Vietnam Road Administration for permission to repair and restore damaged roadbeds and surfaces on the section Km887+300 - Km892+600 of National Highway 14, Dong Nai province according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 14 and Clause 1, Article 15 of Circular No. 40/2024/TT-BGTVT dated November 15, 2024 of the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry of Construction ) regulating the prevention, control and overcoming of consequences of natural disasters in the road sector. After approval, we will thoroughly organize the construction and lay asphalt concrete", Mr. Hoang Van Phuong emphasized.

In addition, the unit will regularly urge and remind contractors to promptly correct the problem. If the quality is not guaranteed, we will make a record or send a document to the relevant units to correct it. For units that are reminded many times but do not listen, the Zone will invite them to a meeting and take drastic measures.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/xa-hoi/duong-huet-mach-thanh-diem-den-quoc-lo-14-xuong-cap-tiem-an-tai-nan-20251020142347253.htm