Hue: Just finished patching, the surface of National Highway 1A is damaged again

Many deep holes and rutted road surfaces have appeared on National Highway 1A, south of Hue city, causing traffic insecurity and frustration for people living along the route.

The "potholes" are death traps, potentially causing traffic accidents on this route. Photo: Van Dung/VNA

Although the road surface was temporarily patched by the authorities, after only a few days, it peeled off and became uneven again. This situation not only poses a potential risk of accidents but also raises the responsibility for the maintenance, repair and management of the key national highway.

"Trap" on the highway

Having just cleared the pile of asphalt rocks scattered in front of his house, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung (Chan May commune - Lang Co) indignantly said that these rocks were shot out from deep holes on the National Highway 1A in front of his house. Pointing to a deep hole, he said that this was the spot where an accident occurred, causing a young man riding a motorbike from South to North to break his arm in the early morning of the 1/5 holiday this year. Just two days ago, the deep holes were "patched", but now everything is back to normal.

Mr. Dung lamented that at first there were "potholes" but a few days later they turned into "elephant holes". The road became more and more bumpy and desolate. Heavy vehicles passing by made loud noises, causing discomfort to the residents living along the road.

Living close to the national highway, Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet said that every year during the rainy season, a 500m stretch of road in front of her store has deep potholes and subsidence. Every time a large vehicle passes by, rocks from the potholes are thrown straight into the house, making the local people very upset. Many rudimentary vehicles traveling at night are prone to accidents when they hit the potholes due to poor visibility.

What upset her the most was that the construction unit did not promptly and properly fix the problem during the dry season, but only followed a temporary solution by hastily filling the hole with new material and not leveling the road surface. This happened many times but did not completely solve the problem.

According to the reporter's records, along National Highway 1A south of Hue city (section through Chan May - Lang Co commune), many deep water holes appeared. Most prominently, in front of the headquarters of the Fire Fighting and Rescue Team of Region 7 (Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department), there were many holes about 2m long, nearly 20cm deep, revealing the deformed and severely damaged road surface structure.

Along National Highway 1A (the section of Km passing through Chan May-Lang Co commune), many "death" holes appeared. Photo: Van Dung/VNA

At the intersection of National Highway 1A and the road leading to Loc Thuy Secondary School (Phu Cuong Xuyen village, Chan May commune - Lang Co), the road surface structure has been severely peeled off. A large amount of crushed stone under the road surface has been thrown out, lying haphazardly on the inside of the road, which can cause slippage for non-motorized vehicles passing by. To ensure the safety of parents and students, teachers of Loc Thuy Secondary School must regularly be present at the intersection to assist and check the traffic situation.

According to Vice Chairman of Chan May - Lang Co Commune People's Committee Nguyen Van Tanh, the Commune People's Committee has worked with Lang Co Road Management Department (Road Management Office II.5) to have a plan to review and repair black spots on the national highway, avoiding danger to people during travel. In the coming time, the commune will continue to review and detect similar deep holes to promptly propose solutions.

Construction and management responsibilities

The road surface is damaged and potholes, mud, and ruts appear on the sections of km848+875 - KM892+700 of National Highway 1, Hue City. As the direct management unit, Thua Thien Hue Road Management and Construction Joint Stock Company has installed a set of 3 traffic safety warning signs to warn vehicles when passing through the section. From September 29 to October 21, the unit deployed many rounds of pothole patching with cold asphalt concrete, hot asphalt concrete and temporary materials in the rain, with an estimated volume of 900m2.

Notably, most of the damaged and pothole-ridden roads are part of national highway pavement repair projects that are still under warranty. The projects are carried out by the following contractors: Minh Dat LLC and Dong Thuan Construction Joint Stock Company, construction in 2023; Ngoc Minh - UDIC Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company, construction in 2024; Thua Thien Hue Traffic Construction Joint Stock Company, construction in 2023.

Explaining the cause of this painful situation, Mr. Tran Quang Hiet, Deputy General Director of Thua Thien Hue Road Construction and Management Joint Stock Company, said that the most prominent reason is the heavy and continuous rain in the city recently. In addition, the La Son - Tuy Loan Expressway and Ho Chi Minh Road are being upgraded and expanded, so vehicles, including heavy trucks, are concentrated on the national highway, causing the road surface to deteriorate.

Mr. Tran Quang Hiet said that using materials to stabilize the damaged road surface in rainy weather is very difficult. Through many years of experience in repairing, it has been shown that there is still no suitable material on the market to handle the problem. Therefore, the company can only use temporary materials such as crushed stone and asphalt concrete to patch it. However, after a day of heavy traffic and prolonged rain, the road surface will peel off again.

A large amount of crushed stone under the road surface was thrown out, which could cause non-motorized vehicles to slip and fall when passing by. Photo: Van Dung/VNA

According to the reporter's observation on the morning of October 20, many vehicles intentionally carrying overloaded construction materials were moving on National Highway 1A south of Hue city. This is also one of the reasons why the road surface is quickly "plowed up", reducing its lifespan. Driver Nguyen Van Cuong said he was transporting goods from the old Quang Binh (now Quang Tri) to Da Nang city. Although he knew that carrying overloaded goods is a violation of the law and causes damage to the road, but during the loading process, he wanted to have "a couple of coins" so he intentionally loaded more.

The situation of a series of deep holes recurring on the key route of National Highway 1A for a long time has raised the responsibility of the project contractors as well as the road management unit. People hope that the functional units will soon have a more fundamental solution, stripping the layers of road surface and gravel mix, then compensating for a new layer to compact the roadbed to the correct density according to standards; at the same time, the functional forces need to strengthen the control of vehicle loads, closely monitor the warranty responsibilities of the construction units, so that the national highway will soon return to safety, smoothness and sustainability.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/xa-hoi/hue-vua-va-xong-mat-duong-quoc-lo-1a-lai-hu-hong-20251025134305881.htm