Legend of the Western Nghe An route

(Baonghean) - With 184 km passing through 3 remote districts: Que Phong, Tuong Duong, Ky Son, this road plays an extremely important role and meaning for the people and land of Western Nghe An.

The difficult days of opening the road

Before the inauguration day of the Tay Nghe An road, we met Mr. Vo Quang Nhu - Deputy Commander of the construction site of package 17. In the middle of the night in the mountains and forests on the top of the slope of Tham Tham village, the face of the man from Yen Thanh, who looked older than his 47 years, seemed to have relaxed. He said: The group of engineers and workers of Tan Nam Joint Stock Company, consisting of 50 people, came here from the first day of phase 2, that is, March 2010, to carry out the construction of the road from km 102 to km 112, connecting Tri Le commune (Que Phong) with Nhon Mai commune (Tuong Duong).

Construction unit of Tay Nghe An road section passing through Tri Le commune (Que Phong)

At that time, the road had not yet been formed. The traffic from Nhon Mai to Tri Le was just a thread-like path crossing high mountains, then suddenly going down into a deep ravine. On that road, the villagers still crept up and down the slopes to work on their fields every day. There was no electricity, no clean water either. The weather was extremely harsh, the nights were cold as knives, the mornings were frosty, and the noons were scorching hot.

It takes a whole day to transport food from the center of Tri Le commune. Transporting construction materials to the construction site is an extreme challenge. A tank can only carry 1-2 tons each trip, and it takes 4-5 days to transport 10 tons of materials.

Those were dry days, but on rainy days, everyone was "tied" in the camp, in the middle of the windy mountain top. It rained continuously, day after day. At that time, even though there were enough machines and materials, the construction sites had to stay still, sometimes for months at a time. Life was hard, construction work was extremely difficult, and public spending was tightened.

Many construction units on this route had to give up. Engineers and workers in Mr. Nhu's group understood that: This is a key project of Nghe An province, when completed it will promote economic and social development in the Western region; it is a route connecting the border belt road with Nghe An province, making an important contribution to socio-economic development, maintaining national defense and border security.

Representatives of provincial leaders and the Department of Transport during a construction inspection of Tay Nghe An road.

From the awareness of their responsibility to the community, the engineers and workers were determined to stay and continue to construct the road. The high mountains were gradually leveled, the deep valleys were filled, the Tay Nghe An road gradually took shape with a solid foundation, paved with stone and then asphalt. If before it took 4 hours to travel 11 km from Nhon Mai to Tri Le, now it only takes 25 minutes...

In the common camp of the construction workers of package 16, from km 98 to km 102, Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung - Deputy Director of Nghe An Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company sat struggling to calculate a plan to "salvage" the rock transport truck that had overturned at Doc Do - the most difficult construction point of this package.

Mr. Dung explained: This package was originally transferred from another company, but due to its weak capacity, it was "whistled". The company started to undertake this package in October 2014. 5 years equals 11 months, the company had to speed up the construction progress day and night; leveling mountains to open public roads, borrowing roads from people's houses, finding every way to overcome the impact of rain, wind, and landslides. Difficulties piled on difficulties, the company had to build roads and go to each house to do "civil mobilization" work.

The construction of the western Nghe An route was difficult, and the construction of 41 bridges on this route was even more difficult. The road passes through deep valleys and large streams. The “extreme” ones include: Nam Non bridge, Khe Ke bridge, Khe Luc bridge, Khe Ben bridge from Mai Son commune (Tuong Duong) to My Ly commune (Ky Son). In the early days, there was no road, so it was impossible to bring in construction materials.

Nghe An Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company constructs package 16 road sections in Tri Le commune (Que Phong).

The construction unit of these bridges, Hoa Hiep Company Limited, had to hire ferries from the upstream wharf, Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir, to transport thousands of tons of materials and machinery upstream of Nam Non River. It took 2-3 days for the materials to reach the construction site. Engineer Pham Chien Huu - Deputy Director of Hoa Hiep Company Limited shared: "We no longer consider profit or loss, but we carry out the construction with responsibility, affection, and trust towards our home province. There are countless unnamed difficulties, not included in the drawings and designs when constructing the road and bridges on the Tay Nghe An route."

Mr. Tran Huu Xuan, site supervision consultant 4, packages 16 to 19 said: The Tay Nghe An route has a total length of 184 km; the starting point is Dong Van commune (Que Phong), the end point is Muong Xen town (Ky Son). The road passes through 3 districts: Que Phong, Tuong Duong, Ky Son and is designed according to the standards of a grade VI mountain road (sections through residential areas are designed as grade V mountain roads). The total investment for the construction of the route is 2,127 billion VND. The construction of the route is divided into 2 phases, phase 1 is 78 km long, phase 2 is 106 km long. Although the construction of the route is extremely difficult, all units have shown their efforts and sense of responsibility.

The main road is open

Just 3 years ago, Nhon Mai and Mai Son communes of Tuong Duong district were still isolated areas with no roads. People who wanted to go to the district center had to travel by boat for a whole day. Today, the road has been opened to all houses and villages; passenger buses have also come to pick up and drop off people, making travel much more convenient.

Tay Nghe An road through Tuong Duong district.

Along with the road, electricity was also brought in. Economy, culture, and society soon caught up. In particular, the Tay Nghe An road will become a national highway connecting with Tay Thanh Hoa and extending to Muong Xen - Ta Do - Khe Kien, becoming the third North - South arterial traffic route, parallel to the Ho Chi Minh road and National Highway 1. On this western route, each locality, level, and sector has its own calculations and ways to revive the Western Nghe An region.

Mr. Pham Trong Hoang - Secretary of Tuong Duong District Party Committee affirmed: The completion and use of Tay Nghe An road has contributed to solving difficulties for the district, especially when up to now there has been no convenient traffic route to the communes in the low-lying areas of Tuong Duong, including: Mai Son, Nhon Mai, Huu Khuong.

The district will have the opportunity to promote agricultural and forestry development; plant high-value raw material forests, grow grass, and build a model for raising large livestock. Strengthen the construction of standard schools and medical stations according to the set of criteria in stages, and build communes with synchronous cultural institutions. Focus on solving drug hotspots; stabilize population and production, and avoid illegal migration... According to Mr. Pham Trong Hoang, the district will study the introduction of new varieties for testing such as passion fruit (suitable for soil conditions in Mai Son and Nhon Mai communes), hawthorn, fruit trees...

Since the Tay Nghe An road was built, the trade and travel of people in Que Phong, Ky Son and Tuong Duong districts has become more convenient. Many economic models and projects have also been effective, including the passion fruit development project in Tri Le commune (Que Phong).

The Tay Nghe An route also brings many changes in the economic and social life of Ky Son district. Mr. Vi Hoe - Secretary of Ky Son District Party Committee said: Tay Nghe An route is an opportunity for Ky Son district to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty. Ky Son district has also directed communes on the Tay Nghe An route such as Pha Danh, Huoi Tu, Muong Long, My Ly, Bac Ly to promote the economic restructuring towards agriculture, forestry, fishery, small-scale industry, trade, services and rural development...

Convenient transportation is evoking new directions for economic development. Mr. Pham Tuan Vinh - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Youth Union, Commander of the Nghe An Youth Volunteer Force said: With the permission of the Central Youth Union, the Provincial Party Committee, and the People's Committee of Nghe An province, the Provincial Youth Union is promoting the construction of Youth Villages along the province's border, following the Tay Nghe An route. These villages will build effective livestock and production models for people to learn...

Excited happy days

Sharing the joy of the opening of the main road of the local people are the officers and soldiers of the border force. As the ones who protect the border security, the footsteps of the soldiers in green uniforms are familiar with the high mountains, rivers, and slippery streams on the patrol route. But now, with the Tay Nghe An route, the patrol work will certainly be less difficult and the geographical distance and time from the border to the rear will be shortened.

Major Nguyen Nam Thai - Deputy Head of Tri Le Border Guard Station affirmed: The completion of Tay Nghe An Road has created a synchronous traffic network, connecting the border belt roads of the provinces, contributing to maintaining the national defense and border security, especially in the work of preventing and combating social evils and drug crimes.

A section of road in Tay Nghe An.

The season of joy has truly come since the Tay Nghe An road was built. The central area of ​​​​Huoi Tu commune now has more than 50 kiosks selling goods along the road. Currently, a secondary market to Bac Ly is being built here with an investment value of 5 billion VND. According to Mrs. Lau Y Tong (50 years old) in Trung Tam village, Huoi Tu commune: Since the road was built, the economy, trade and services in the commune have developed rapidly. Previously, the couple of Mrs. Lau Y Tong - Mr. Vu Chong Cho (now deceased) in Huoi Mo village, in 2011, when Tay Nghe An road (phase 1) was opened, they moved to Trung Tam village to live and look for ways to make a living.

Tay Nghe An roadside market, section passing through the intersection of Huoi Tu, Muong Long, My Ly.

From farming and raising livestock, the couple bought a pickup truck to buy agricultural products from all over the region to sell at the commune center or import to Muong Xen town. They also bought pigs to sell, selling an average of one pig per day, and bought a milling machine to provide services. Thanks to that, their children were able to study properly (the eldest son is currently a cadre of Huoi Tu commune). This is also a remarkable thing for a family of Mong people.

Mr. Ha Ba Le - Vice Chairman of Huoi Tu Commune People's Committee said: Tay Nghe An Road has opened up many development directions for the locality. That is developing Shan tea trees and raising large livestock. The best thing is still changing the local lifestyle and thinking in a more progressive direction. People proactively go to the clinic for medical examination and treatment, and backward worship ceremonies no longer exist. Security and order are stable, especially no one grows opium poppies anymore.

Excited about the happy days of the new road, Mr. Cut Pho Duong - Chairman of Bac Ly Commune People's Committee said: Up to 73% of the commune's households are poor. Previously, to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty for the people, the district and commune introduced varieties of Tam Hoa plum, orange, tangerine, pineapple, and Quy Chau duck, but they were not effective. The main reason was that the transportation system and roads were not convenient. Now that there is a road, people have proactively produced, raised livestock, and cultivated crops in the direction of goods and services. The commune also directed the villages to promote fruit varieties suitable for the soil, grow more ginger, Australian peach, raise native cows, etc.

Since the Tay Nghe An road was built, people in Pha Danh commune (Ky Son) have expanded the scale of traditional brocade weaving to supply the market.

Coming to Pa Khom, Tri Le commune (Que Phong), I met Ly Ba Cha (32 years old) who brought melons to the market to sell. Two baskets of melons were big and juicy. When asked, Father said: In the past, the Mong people planted a lot of melons, but they couldn't eat them all and had to throw them away because they couldn't sell them. Now that there is a road and I can ride a bike, Father takes them to Tri Le market to sell. Father's family also has a peach garden with nearly 500 peach trees. Each year the garden brings in nearly 70 million VND from selling branches and fruits.

Ba Cha is happy with the new road: "Previously, the road was difficult to travel, people buying peach branches and fruits often had to go by motorbike or walk, so the price was not high. Now the road is convenient like this, cars can go all the way to the village, surely this year's Tet income of the family will be more than that." Father also boasted: "Since the road was built, I have visited my friend in Muong Long 3 times." Previously, from Tri Le to Muong Long (Ky Son), the only way was to take a bus to Vinh and then go up to Ky Son along National Highway 7 or climb hills and wade through streams for a whole week on the forest road. Now the road has shortened from more than 1 day to only 2 hours by motorbike.

On the Tay Nghe An route today, we saw bustling convoys of vehicles going back and forth: passenger vans from Kim Son and Mai Son, vehicles purchasing agricultural products, vehicles of local people going to the market, and even young people traveling by car or motorbike to explore the scenery of the West...

Article: Thanh Chung

Photo: Ho Phuong