Completion of Thung Thi tunnel on North-South expressway

Thung Thi Tunnel belongs to Package 12-XL of the Mai Son-National Highway 45 expressway project with a total package value of 1,344 billion VND, invested from the State budget. The package is 6.6km long, including 5.7km of road, a 680m long tunnel and works on the route starting at Km301 in Ha Tien commune, ending at Km306+760 in Ha Linh commune (Ha Trung district, Thanh Hoa ).

The tunnel is constructed using modern methods, the permanent project consists of 2 tunnels with 3 lanes for motor vehicles and 1 pedestrian lane for each tunnel, fully equipped with lighting and ventilation systems. The main items of the package have been 100% completed so far.

Although the contractor encountered many difficulties during the construction process, the Covid-19 epidemic greatly affected the mobilization of machinery and personnel. In addition, the fluctuation of material prices, from the time of signing the contract, fuel and material prices continuously increased dramatically, some materials had higher prices than estimated, leading to many difficulties in purchasing materials that both ensured quality and were suitable for the estimate to ensure profits.

On November 18, 2022, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang inspected the project and directed the transfer of the volume of contractor Hoang Long due to this contractor's slow progress. The construction volume was transferred to Deo Ca Group, the leading unit of the contractor consortium, to continue to implement to ensure the progress of the project.

On November 19, 2022, Thang Long Project Management Board (representing the investor), supervision consultant, and contractor met to agree on the scope and volume of the transfer. Deo Ca Group mobilized machinery, equipment, and human resources to continuously carry out construction day and night to compensate for the volume due to the joint venture's slow progress. Deo Ca Group has made efforts to overcome difficulties to complete the handover of the project according to the set schedule.

According to Mr. Pham Duy Hieu, Deputy General Director of Deo Ca Group, Thung Thi tunnel has a large tunnel width to ensure the arrangement of 3 lanes for each tunnel, designed for highway level. During the construction process, the hard rock geological foundation made it difficult to utilize the material source from the tunnel excavation to construct the road section. The completion of Thung Thi tunnel is the basis for implementing larger-scale tunnel projects under the North-South Expressway project phase 2.

For the road segment, package 12-XL has a 600m section at the end of the route that requires weak soil treatment. The contractor faces challenges with a short construction time, ensuring completion by the end of December 2022. The construction solution is to dig deeper, increase the volume of organic peeling, add construction points, change the road structure, and compensate for subsidence with a layer of hollow asphalt concrete. The solutions both speed up the progress and ensure the quality of the project.

After more than two years of construction, it is expected that on April 30, 2023, the Mai Son-National Highway 45 Expressway will be inaugurated, helping to shorten the travel time between Hanoi and Thanh Hoa to just over 2 hours instead of more than 3 hours as at present. The completed project will not only create convenience for people but also contribute to the socio -economic development of the country.

MANH HUNG

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