Urgent need to upgrade Thanh - Binh - Tho raw material route

(Baonghean)This is the route connecting Cay Chanh bridge in Dinh Son commune across Ca river through 3 communes Thanh Son, Binh Son and Tho Son, (Anh Son) located on the left bank, people often call it "Thanh - Binh - Tho raw material route". The total length of the route through 3 communes is about 20 km, has seriously degraded, greatly affecting the lives of the people.

The continuous, continuous rains during the cold spell made the road even more muddy and slippery, most motorbikes had to move very slowly if they didn't want to "fall for a frog", occasionally a truck carrying sugarcane and cassava raw materials was coming in the opposite direction, so all the motorbikes had to stop to give way. Those were the images I witnessed when traveling along this "miserable" road to Tho Son commune. Nearly 10 years ago, when put into use, this road invested by the Nghe An Department of Transport has really brought into play its effectiveness not only for the people of the above 3 communes but also for other localities of Con Cuong and Tan Ky districts in trading, traveling, especially transporting raw sugarcane from Thanh Son, Binh Son and Tho Son to the Sugarcane Factory of Song Lam Sugarcane Joint Stock Company located in Dinh Son commune, Anh Son district.



Mountainous grade V asphalt roads are seriously degraded.

However, in the past 3 years, the road built according to the 13-ton mountain level V standard has rapidly deteriorated. In many sections, the road surface is uneven, the asphalt surface has almost completely peeled off, replaced by a dirt road, making travel extremely difficult. Mr. Pham Ngoc Canh - Vice Chairman of Tho Son Commune People's Committee, said: "The main reason is still due to overloaded vehicles traveling a lot. In addition, since the Cay Chanh bridge was put into use, the traffic volume has increased compared to before. All of the above reasons lead to the rapid deterioration of the road." Through our research, in Tho Son alone with 400 hectares of raw sugarcane, an average harvest of 14,000 - 15,000 tons of sugarcane, the number of vehicles carrying raw materials in and out each crop is already very large, along with vehicles carrying glue and minerals operating... Therefore, it is understandable that this vital raw material road quickly deteriorates.

In recent years, this degradation has not only affected the transportation of raw materials for the sugar factory but also greatly affected the lives of local residents, with 810 households and more than 3,700 people in Tho Son commune alone. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thai - Hamlet 5, Tho Son was upset: Just when it rains, many sections of the road turn into mud ponds, making it very difficult to travel. Before, there was a road but there was no Cay Chanh bridge, now that there is a bridge, the road is damaged. We only dare to travel when there is something important. The hardest part is for high school students, who have to travel 12 kilometers through the forest in such road conditions to go to school." According to Mr. Pham Ngoc Canh - Vice Chairman of Tho Son Commune People's Committee, the whole commune currently has more than 150 students studying at Anh Son 3 High School, most of whom have to rent a room to go to school due to the degraded road. Many families who are already in difficulty now have even more difficulty because they have to pay for room and board every month. Therefore, the people's wish is to have a plan to upgrade and repair the road to facilitate travel.

Leaving Tho Son, I headed back to Thanh Son - where the road has deteriorated the most. Mr. Do Minh Duc - Deputy Chief of Thanh Son Commune Police said: "Since the road has deteriorated, the number of traffic accidents we have recorded has tended to increase. Fortunately, there have been no serious accidents because most people are aware of moving slowly when passing through this road. It is dusty in the dry season, muddy in the rainy season, making it very difficult to travel!"

Faced with this situation, the people have complained a lot, the People's Committee of Anh Son district has had to support the budget for Thanh - Binh - Tho communes twice to coordinate with the people to repair. In 2011, the district supported each commune with an average of 40 - 70 million VND. In 2012, the People's Committee of the district also supported Thanh Son commune with 120 million VND, Binh Son and Tho Son with 60 million VND/commune. In addition, Song Lam Sugar Joint Stock Company also supported 150 million VND for the above communes to clear the raw material road. However, the above solution is still only a temporary solution, because the roadbed has many sections that have been severely degraded. Recently, the Provincial People's Committee has decided to assign Anh Son district People's Committee to be the investor to renovate and upgrade 3 km of the raw material road (these are sections that are too severely damaged, making it difficult for vehicles to travel). Anh Son district is expected to carry out repairs and renovations in the first quarter of 2013. This is good news for voters and people in the three communes of Thanh - Binh - Tho, because the desire for a road that meets standards to contribute to improving trading and travel conditions, reducing hardship for the people is completely legitimate.

Thanh Duy