Nghe An: Heavy trucks 'avoid' toll stations, causing Provincial Road 542 to deteriorate severely

The reason is that since the new Yen Xuan bridge was built across the Lam River, connecting Hung Nguyen district with the communes of the 5th South (Nam Dan) region, heavy-duty vehicles on the western side of Ha Tinh province, including Huong Khe, Huong Son and Duc Tho districts - where National Highway 15 and National Highway 8C Ha Tinh are located, have been able to take a shortcut through Provincial Road 542 to Vinh bypass and National Highway 1A more conveniently, instead of having to go down Ben Thuy bridge to Nghe An as before.

A heavy truck wobbles on Provincial Road 542 through Hung Tan Commune (Hung Nguyen). Photo taken at 4:30 p.m. on November 11, 2022. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Long-distance truck drivers said that if the truck goes from National Highway 15 or National Highway 8C in Huong Khe and Huong Son districts (Ha Tinh) or the 5th South of Nam Dan district over the new Yen Xuan bridge, then cuts through Provincial Road 542 to Vinh bypass, it will be 15-20 km shorter than going down National Highway 1A over Ben Thuy bridge before. With the above route, in addition to saving fuel, drivers can also "avoid" the Ben Thuy bridge toll station with an average of 175 - 182 thousand VND/trip. This is not a small amount of money if the truck makes several trips each day.

Directly investigating, we found that, due to the high frequency of heavy trucks traveling, Provincial Road 542 has deteriorated very quickly despite being maintained and repaired. Along the entire length of about 3km from the Vinh bypass intersection to Yen Xuan bridge, at least 4 points in Hung Nguyen town, Hung Tan and Hung Thong communes have cracked and peeled off the road surface; in particular, the right side of the road from Hung Tan commune towards Vinh bypass has a section that has sunk nearly 20cm, creating many "buffalo back" sections, which are very dangerous for motorcyclists at night.

A section of "buffalo ridge" and "potholes" on Provincial Road 542 adjacent to Vinh bypass looking towards Hung Nguyen town, Hung Nguyen district. According to local people, this location has been repaired several times but is still sinking. Photo: Nguyen Hai

A resident in Hamlet 4, Long Xa Commune said: Right at the beginning of Provincial Road 542 from Yen Xuan Bridge, there is a sign indicating that vehicles with axle load under 10 tons are allowed to enter, vehicles over 10 tons are restricted, but because the authorities are not regularly on duty and impose fines, and there is no weigh station on this road, vehicles with heavy loads still freely circulate.

Mr. Bui Le Duan - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Thong Commune (Hung Nguyen) said: The situation of heavy trucks traveling, causing deterioration and traffic safety risks on Provincial Road 542 through the commune has been happening for the past few years. Every day, early morning and late afternoon are the busiest times for traffic, all container trucks or long trucks with a load capacity of up to 20-30 tons. The above time zone is also when children in the area go to school and thousands of workers go to work at VSIP Industrial Park on the above route to Nam Dan or Ha Tinh, so it is very dangerous.

Faced with the above situation, the People's Committee of Hung Thong commune and the communes through which Provincial Road 542 passes, namely Hung Tan and Long Xa, have proposed that the Traffic Safety Committee of Hung Nguyen district and the Department of Transport have a plan to ensure safety and regular maintenance and repair, so that people and vehicles traveling on this route can be smooth and convenient.

In the long term, if the province accepts this route for heavy trucks to pass through, there needs to be a plan to upgrade and expand the road according to new standards.

The two connecting points between the bridge connecting Hung Tan commune and Hung Nguyen town on Provincial Road 542 are severely degraded and are being repaired. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Nguyen Van Hai - Deputy Director of Nghe An Department of Transport shared: The Provincial Traffic Safety Committee and the Department of Transport have also received information about the situation of heavy-duty vehicles "avoiding" toll stations and passing through Provincial Road 542. To warn, the industry has also directed the placement of vehicle weight limit signs, but because the authorities have not regularly monitored and handled the situation, heavy-duty vehicles still pass through, causing the road to quickly deteriorate.

A heavy-duty truck carrying glue takes a shortcut through Provincial Road 542 from Huong Khe, Huong Son (Ha Tinh) and Nam Dan to enter Vinh - National Highway 1A bypass, to import and sell products to a processing factory in Nghe An. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Admitting that since the new Yen Xuan bridge was built, the number of trucks taking shortcuts and "avoiding" toll stations has made Provincial Road 542, which was built according to level 4 plain standards, unable to handle a load of up to 20-30 tons, leading to rapid deterioration, a representative of the Transport sector also expressed the difficulty of not being able to find an immediate solution because the province's annual resources for road maintenance and repair are quite limited.

Currently, in addition to heavy-duty vehicles taking shortcuts to avoid Ben Thuy toll station, the North-South Expressway project is being implemented in Hung Nguyen, so there are more trucks carrying construction materials for contractors. The province has also requested Project Management Board 6 and construction contractors to comply with regulations on transporting vehicles with the correct tonnage. If any road section is damaged during the project construction process, they must be responsible for repairing it after construction.

Along with maintenance and repairs, traffic on the Provincial Road is still operating normally, so traffic density is quite high. Photo: Nguyen Hai

A representative of the Department of Transport said: To overcome the above situation, in the immediate future, the province will prioritize investment in funds to maintain and repair degraded and damaged sections; direct forces or weighing stations to monitor this route.

In the long term, based on the survey and recommendations of the district, we will study the investment plan to upgrade and expand Provincial Road 542 to connect Vinh bypass with the new Yen Xuan bridge, facilitating travel between Hung Nguyen and communes in the 5 South region (Nam Dan district) and Ha Tinh province, thereby promoting economic development.