Road damaged beyond repair due to 'loss of contact with contractor'
(Baonghean.vn) - The road from National Highway 1A to Quynh Hoa Commune (Quynh Luu District) has been seriously degraded for many years, with frequent traffic accidents. However, the government is powerless to upgrade and repair it, the reason being that it cannot contact the contractor to settle the old project.
Haunted inter-commune road
Although it has been nearly 3 months since the traffic accident, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Duong (70 years old, village 4, Quynh Hoa commune, Quynh Luu), is still haunted by the "road of suffering". Since then, every time she has to leave the commune, Mrs. Duong has to go around the rice field road, cross the cemetery, and accept to go further to avoid this road.
The road that Mrs. Duong mentioned is the inter-commune road, connecting National Highway 1A, through Quynh Thach commune to Quynh Hoa. One day at the end of last year, Mrs. Duong was taking her grandchild on a motorbike through this section of road when she hit a pothole and a jagged rock in the middle of the road, causing the motorbike to skid and lose control. As a result, she broke her leg and had to stay in the hospital for a long time. The child was lucky to only have minor injuries.
Luckily we are familiar with this road, so every time we go there we are very careful, driving very slowly. But we still got hit. If we had gone too fast, we don't know how serious the consequences would have been.
According to Ms. Duong, she is not the only victim. In recent times, many local people have had traffic accidents every time they pass this route. Especially during the rainy season. "This road has been degraded for about 3 years, making it very difficult to travel. We have complained to the commune and district many times but have not seen any repairs," Ms. Duong said.
That is why this road is called "the road of suffering" by the locals. This degraded road is about 2 km long, from the front gate of Quynh Luu District General Hospital to the end of Quynh Thach Commune, the road surface is 5-6 m wide, and was paved about 10 years ago. However, most of the road surface has now been deformed and severely damaged. Many potholes have appeared, making it very difficult for motorbikes and cars to pass.
Mr. Nguyen Van Duong (37 years old, Quynh Thach commune), said that after a period of construction, the road has deteriorated and been destroyed by vehicles. Every day, during rush hour, people pass this road in large numbers and are under a lot of pressure because they are afraid that traffic accidents can happen at any time.
When it is sunny, the dust flies up, and the dust gets into the houses, forcing dozens of households living on both sides of the road to close their doors. When it rains, the road turns into a field, with potholes appearing everywhere. Every year, we witness many traffic accidents because the road is so bad, especially at night.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Van (residing in village 12, Quynh Thach commune) whose house is right next to the road said that this road was severely damaged shortly after it was completed. “Every day, we see many large trucks passing by, and because the road is damaged, there have been many accidents. My family and the people around here often have to take injured people to the emergency room. There was a person driving a motorbike carrying a small child who fell into a drainage ditch. The road has not been completed for long, we have not had time to be happy but have to live in insecurity and anxiety,” Ms. Van said.
To fix the problem, some households living on both sides of the road have repeatedly spent their own money to buy soil and rocks to fill in the potholes and level the road surface for their families and people to travel. However, this is only a temporary solution. After a short time, the road returns to its original state.
Mr. Nguyen Sy Luc - Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Thach commune, said that for many years, at meetings and meetings with voters, local people have reflected on this road.
Every year people have opinions, but we can only report to the district. But until now we still cannot upgrade or repair. Because this road has a lot of traffic, it has degraded and damaged very badly.
According to Mr. Luc, during the recent Lunar New Year, people returned to their hometowns to celebrate Tet and traveled a lot, so many people complained to the local authorities. “Previously, we also spent money to rent leveling machines to temporarily fix the problem. However, that solution was just a "drop in the ocean", after a few days it was back to normal. Before Tet, the commune also surveyed to fix the problem so that people could travel during Tet, but due to lack of funds, it could not be implemented. Now we can only wait for a plan from the district,” Mr. Luc added.
Unable to contact contractor
According to the reporter's investigation, this project is invested by the District People's Committee, with a total investment of nearly 20 billion VND. This road project stretches 6.3 km, from National Highway 1A through 3 communes of Quynh Thach, Quynh Hoa and Ngoc Son. In 2011, the project was officially started, and Bang An Construction Investment Joint Stock Company was assigned to be responsible for the construction.
However, the project progress was sluggish. It was not until 2019 that the company had only cleared the land and filled the foundation for about 4km. In addition, it had also paved an additional section of about 500m. While the work was still in progress, the company shifted its business direction to the South. The People's Committee of Quynh Luu district then had to ask another enterprise to pave the remaining 3.5km. As for the more than 2km section through Ngoc Son commune, the site has not yet been cleared because it passes through forest land.
Mr. Nguyen Van Quy - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district said that recently, the district has received many petitions from people reflecting on this road. However, due to legal problems, the local government cannot invest capital for maintenance, even if it has money.
Previously, the District People's Committee contracted with Bang An Construction Investment Joint Stock Company to construct this road. However, due to initial difficulties in capital sources, the construction unit completed a section and then went to the South to do business. "In the South, this company went bankrupt, and the Court even sent a document here to request debt collection. The district also called the company director many times to return to continue completing the road, but he refused to return. The district then had to ask another company to continue completing a section."
According to Mr. Quy, because the road has many vehicles, many sections have been degraded and severely damaged. "These sections were all constructed by Bang An Construction Investment Joint Stock Company, so now we cannot invest in maintenance because of legal problems. To fix this, we must cancel the old contract with Bang An Investment Joint Stock Company to implement the new project, but the difficulty is that we cannot contact this company," Mr. Quy said, adding that the district leaders have assigned the District Construction Project Management Board to find a solution.
According to the reporter's investigation, Bang An Construction Investment Joint Stock Company was previously considered a "famous" enterprise in Quynh Luu district. This enterprise also won many bid packages in Quynh Luu district./.
