Developing a plan to de-escalate the "hot spot" on the Cam Lo expressway.

Developing a plan to de-escalate the "hot spot" on the Cam Lo - Hoa Lien expressway.

The Cam Lo - Hoa Lien expressway, spanning 163.3 km (including a 98.35 km section from Cam Lo to La Son and a 64.95 km section from La Son to Hoa Lien), is currently one of the five most congested expressways in the country due to its limited 2 lanes and 12-meter wide cross-section.

Early completion of load

Although not the investor, only acting as the locality through which the road passes, in Official Letter No. 2854/UBND-GT sent to the Ministry of Transport earlier this week, the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue province put forward a series of detailed and highly practical recommendations related to the investment and upgrading plan for the Cam Lo - La Son and La Son - Hoa Lien expressways.

Accordingly, the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue province proposed continuing investment in phase II of the entire Cam Lo - Hoa Lien expressway to meet the standard of 4 lanes; simultaneously completing the construction of 4 interchanges; and adding one more interchange at Provincial Road 15 - Km95+600 on the Cam Lo - La Son expressway.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, the proposed additional connection point is a direct connection to Phu Bai Industrial Park and Phu Bai International Airport, combined with the expansion and extension of the service road along the expressway connecting from Provincial Road 15, the western bypass of Hue City to the interchange with Provincial Road 14B, creating conditions for fast and convenient passenger and goods transportation, and reducing congestion on National Highway 1.

In addition, the leaders of the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Committee proposed to the Ministry of Transport to adjust sections of the route with small curve radii, large turning angles, steep longitudinal slopes, and blind spots, ensuring they meet the standards of a highway so that heavy vehicles and container trucks can use them, ensuring smooth traffic flow, improving traffic capacity and safety.

"Authorities also need to quickly install lighting systems at highway entry and exit points, telecommunication base stations, camera systems, and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) for more convenient, safe, and effective monitoring, handling, and management," proposed the Chairman of the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue province.

It should be added that, according to the Road Network Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, the Cam Lo - Hoa Lien expressway segment is planned to have 6 lanes; investment is scheduled to begin before 2030.

The Cam Lo - La Son expressway, 98.35 km long, was put into operation on December 31, 2022; the La Son - Hoa Lien expressway, 64.95 km long, was put into operation in April 2022.

This is one of five expressways nationwide that currently has 2 lanes, a road surface width of 11 m, and a roadbed width of 12 m. Only the overpass sections meet the standard of 4 lanes with a road surface width of 21.5 m and a roadbed width of 23 m.

According to traffic capacity calculations, the La Son - Hoa Lien section, with its existing 2 lanes, will only meet transportation needs until 2028; from 2028 onwards, it must be upgraded to 4 lanes.

Furthermore, because there are no tolls, most heavy trucks and container vehicles traveling across Vietnam have abandoned National Highway 1 and instead used the Cam Lo - Hoa Lien expressway, causing severe traffic congestion and posing a high risk of traffic accidents.

"Investing in expanding the Cam Lo - La Son and La Son - Hoa Lien sections (Quang Tri - Thua Thien Hue - Da Nang ) to four lanes is urgently needed to quickly synchronize the North-South expressway system through Central Vietnam, improve operational capacity, and ensure traffic safety," assessed the leaders of the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Committee.

Prioritize investment in the first 4 lanes.

According to information from the Investment Newspaper, by the end of March 2024, the Ministry of Transport had received the project appraisal results and funding appraisal for the "upgrading" of the North-South Expressway Eastern section, La Son - Hoa Lien section, from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, based on the pre-feasibility study report prepared by the Ministry of Transport, with a total investment of approximately 3,011 billion VND from the state budget.

In Report No. 2155/BC-BKHĐT, the Ministry of Planning and Investment stated that the project to expand the North-South Expressway in the East, La Son - Hoa Lien section, has funding sources and the ability to balance capital in accordance with Decision No. 888/QD-TTg dated July 24, 2023, on the allocation of central budget investment plan for the Socio-Economic Recovery and Development Program; and the allocation and adjustment of the medium-term public investment plan using central budget capital for the period 2021 - 2025.

However, the Ministry of Planning and Investment noted that the Ministry of Transport needs to review the project's implementation progress to ensure that all allocated capital is disbursed (2023: VND 1,173 billion; 2024: VND 1,200 billion; 2024: VND 1,809.8 billion).

Previously, the Ministry of Transport proposed an investment plan to upgrade the La Son - Hoa Lien section by maintaining the current expressway classification, widening the road surface, and ensuring that the structures along the route meet the scale of 4 lanes, instead of investing according to the planned scale.

"It is projected that by 2040, the traffic volume on the La Son - Hoa Lien route will be approximately 30,073 equivalent vehicles/day and night, and by 2050, it will be approximately 44,037 equivalent vehicles/day and night. Therefore, expanding the route to 4 lanes can meet transportation needs until 2050 (reaching full capacity)," analyzed Mr. Nguyen Danh Huy, Deputy Minister of Transport.

Regarding the Cam Lo - La Son section, the Ministry of Transport has assigned the Ho Chi Minh Highway Project Management Board to study and prepare a pre-feasibility study report for the project to expand the section to 4 lanes, similar to the investment plan for expanding the La Son - Hoa Lien section. A preliminary estimate suggests that the total cost to upgrade the Cam Lo - La Son section to a standard 4-lane road is approximately 6,715 billion VND.

A major advantage for upgrading the Cam Lo - Hoa Lien expressway is that the vast majority of the construction site has already been cleared by the Ministry of Transport for a 4-lane road during the phased construction period. Therefore, once the project is approved and funding is secured, both projects to upgrade the Cam Lo - La Son and La Son - Hoa Lien expressways will only take a maximum of 2 years to complete.

"We are reporting to the competent authorities the investment plan to expand the Cam Lo - La Son section using surplus revenue from 2023; at the same time, we plan to include it in the priority investment list in the Medium-Term Public Investment Plan 2025 - 2030 to invest in expanding the section as soon as possible to ensure synchronized, efficient and long-term operation," a leader of the Ministry of Transport said.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/len-kich-ban-ha-nhiet-diem-nong-cao-toc-cam-lo---hoa-lien-d211786.html