Provincial Road 681 section through the western communes of Lam Dong is destroyed.

a DJI_0733 — Provincial Road 681, through Quang Tan Commune, Lam Dong Province, many deep ponds appear.

Struggling on the "painful" road

The Central Highlands has entered the peak of the rainy season, with heavy rains continuing to occur in many areas, including the west of Lam Dong province. This is also the time when many major roads, including Provincial Road 681, are increasingly damaged.

Nearly 20km of Provincial Road 681 from Kien Duc Commune to Quang Tan Commune, countless deep “ponds” of water appeared in the middle of the road. The water stagnated frequently, causing the road surface to deteriorate faster. The “buffalo holes” and “chicken potholes” grew wider because of the frequent stagnant water.

The degraded road makes it very difficult for vehicles to move around. Motorcyclists have to weave in and out, even on the side of the road or in the opposite lane, to avoid large “ponds” of water. Low-chassis cars move very slowly, groping to find a way to get through the damaged sections of the road.

a DJI_0753 — Provincial Road 681 through Quang Tan Commune was severely damaged during the 2025 rainy season.

a 352A1367 — The peeling road surface makes it very difficult for vehicles to move.

a 352A1393 — People's travel and trade of goods are affected.

a 352A1437 — Damaged roads make travel difficult and time-consuming.

a 352A1440 — Damaged and slippery roads also pose a risk of accidents.

Provincial Road 681, through Quang Tan Commune, Lam Dong Province, many deep ponds appear.

The badly damaged road poses a potential traffic safety risk. Many people living along the road, such as the family of Nguyen Thanh Vinh in village 4, Kien Duc commune, have witnessed many accidents involving motorbikes falling into the deep “pond” of water in front of their house.

“
In recent months, there have been many motorbike accidents in front of my house. Many women and students fell and got dirty, very pitiful. Pedestrians also suffered and the daily life and business of people living along the road were also affected.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Vinh shared

Local people share about the damage and degradation of Provincial Road 681, affecting their travel and lives.

Currently, most of Provincial Road 681 has seriously degraded. Traveling on this route is very difficult and time-consuming. If the road is favorable, the trip usually takes only about 30 minutes, but now it takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes to travel more than 30km because the road is damaged.

The leader of the People's Committee of Quang Tan Commune said: Provincial Road 681 is degraded, and people often make recommendations at meetings with voters at the commune and provincial levels. In previous years, some severely damaged sections were repaired to make it easier for people to travel during the rainy season. However, since the beginning of 2025, this road has not been repaired, making it very difficult and frustrating for people to travel.

“
There is no public transport in the area, so most people have to ride motorbikes to take their children to school. The new school year is approaching, so local repairs to some severely damaged sections on Provincial Road 681 are very necessary.
Leaders of Quang Tan Commune People's Committee

Struggling to repair and upgrade

Provincial Road 681 has a total length of 36km, connecting Ho Chi Minh Road through Kien Duc Commune, passing through Quang Tan Commune to two border communes: Tuy Duc and Quang Truc. This is a vital route connecting to the Lam Dong border area and is a route within the Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia development triangle traffic network.

Despite its importance, Provincial Road 681 has been invested in for a long time and is seriously degraded. In the period of 2020 - 2021, the government has allocated about 90 billion VND to upgrade sections of the route, helping vehicles circulate and trade goods more conveniently.

Due to limited investment funds, the renovation of Provincial Road 681 is patchwork and can only meet the requirements in a short time. In addition, the weak roadbed and heavy traffic volume cause the road surface to quickly deteriorate again.

a DJI_0761 — Provincial Road 681 is a vital road, of great importance in the border area of Lam Dong province, but has been degraded for many years.

In the renovation package from Km2 to Km16 (completed from July 2021), the road quickly deteriorated during the warranty period (24 months). Although the contractor repaired it many times, it quickly deteriorated again. Currently, this road section is managed by the previous renovation project investor, Construction Investment Project Management Board No. 3.

a 352A1365 — From Km2 - Km16 of Provincial Road 681, many sections appear to be severely damaged.

a 352A1377 copy — Transportation is very difficult due to the degraded road surface.

a 352A1382 — The road surface has many "potholes", when it rains heavily it becomes a deep "pond" of water.

a 352A1395 — Road degradation affects people's traffic

a 352A1434 — Transportation is difficult due to damaged road surface of Provincial Road 681.

The section from Km17 into Tuy Duc commune was renovated and completed in January 2022. This section of the road was also degraded but was repaired by the contractor, basically meeting traffic needs. After the warranty period expired (January 2024), this road was accepted and handed over to Dak Nong Road Repair Management Joint Stock Company for management.

During this rainy season, the section from Km17 onwards has also deteriorated rapidly. However, according to the Director of Dak Nong Road Repair Management Joint Stock Company, Vo Cong Hanh, this section of the route is currently not eligible for repair. Because according to regulations, minor maintenance can only be carried out after at least 2 years and major repairs after at least 4 years from the date of handover.

a DJI_0742 — Repairing severely damaged sections on Provincial Road 681 is essential, especially as the new school year approaches.

Upgrading and renovating Provincial Road 681 is an urgent issue. After many years of consideration, at the end of 2024, the local government approved the Project to renovate and upgrade Provincial Road 681.

This project will upgrade 25.6 km of Provincial Road 681 with a total cost of 600 billion VND. This route will be upgraded to the standards of a grade III mountainous road, with a 9m wide roadbed (6m road surface and 1.5m wide shoulders on each side).

The project to renovate and upgrade Provincial Road 681 was approved in principle on March 29, 2024 and the feasibility study report was approved on December 31, 2024. The project has a total investment of VND 600 billion (of which the construction cost is more than VND 404 billion), implemented in the period of 2025 - 2028, with the Project Management Board for Investment and Construction No. 3 as the investor.

Provincial Road 681 has many sections seriously degraded, affecting people's travel.

According to the plan set out in 2025 by the Construction Investment Project Management Board No. 3, the unit will sign a consulting contract with the survey unit, prepare construction drawing design - estimate by the end of April 2025. In mid-June 2025, the units will complete the survey work, prepare construction drawing design - estimate for appraisal and approval.

The investor is expected to sign the construction contract and start construction at the end of July 2025. By the end of 2025, this project will have completed about 30% of the contract value and will organize construction in severely damaged locations.

By the end of August 2025, the Provincial Road 681 Renovation and Upgrade Project had not yet started. The investor representative said that the procedures were being completed and if all went well, the project would start in 2025. Because the project is still in progress, the units have not yet carried out local repairs and renovations on Provincial Road 681.