There will be a residential road to limit traffic accidents on the 72m Vinh - Cua Lo route.
(Baonghean) - After the 72m road from Nghi Phu and Nghi Duc communes was opened to Nghi Phong commune and Cua Lo town, many collisions and traffic accidents occurred. The reason is that at the newly handed over intersections, there are no traffic signal systems and no residential roads.
Urgent completion of traffic light cluster system
The new route was opened after the Lunar New Year. Besides bringing great convenience to people traveling, traffic accidents continuously occurred at key intersections between the 72m road and residential roads.
The most prominent of these is the intersection between the 72m road and the 35m road connecting National Highway 46 from Nghi An commune to Hung Hoa commune in Xuan Dong hamlet, Nghi Duc commune and the intersection between Nghi Thai - Nghi Phong inter-commune road with95m road, when every few days there is an average of one traffic accident between local residents and traffic controllers on the main route.
According to preliminary statistics, from November 2020 to the end of March 2021, there were about 10 traffic accidents, major and minor collisions, on the 72m route.
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| Recently, the intersection of 72m road and 35m road in Nghi Duc has had many traffic accidents. Photo: Van Hai |
The above fact was confirmed by representatives of Nghi Duc commune (Vinh city), Nghi Phong (Nghi Loc) and Vinh city police; at the same time, they said that the basic reason was that people traveling on the new road were not familiar with it and there was no traffic light warning system.
Realizing this limitation, along with urgently completing other technical items, the investor's representative, the Department of Transport's Investment Project Management Board, has urgently deployed the construction of traffic light clusters on this route.
Up to now, 4/6 light clusters have been completed and put into operation, the remaining 2 light clusters at Truong Van Linh and Chu Trac streets are waiting for renovation, opening of right turns, and will be installed and put into use at the end of May.
In parallel, the investor also constructed 34 single signal poles, warning of slow-down and speed reduction (slow) at intersections with residential level crossings. Currently, the contractors have completed 24/34 poles and the remaining 10 poles will be completed and handed over this May.
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| Construction of lighting system for 95m road. Photo: Van Hai |
The team has assigned a traffic police checkpoint to regularly patrol and guide people and vehicles on this route; at the same time, strictly handle cases of non-compliance with traffic signals at this intersection. Since the traffic lights came into operation, people and vehicles have been moving more orderly and for nearly a month now, there has not been a major traffic accident at this intersection.
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| Single speed limit warning light. Photo: Van Hai |
Safety solutions
Having participated in traffic on this route and directly observed, we realized that the travel habits of the people here are quite arbitrary. The 72m road has 2 lanes going up and down; the roads connecting the crossroads on one side to the other side all have signs prohibiting going in the wrong direction and prohibiting U-turns, but both the people and the vehicles do not follow the regulations.
At the intersection of Highway 95 and Nghi Thai - Nghi Phong inter-commune road (Nghi Loc) is a black spot, during rush hour when students leave school, there are times when the commune has to assign staff to guide parents and students to travel safely and avoid traffic jams, but the situation is still chaotic and unsafe.
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| The 72m intersection with Nghi Thai - Nghi Phong inter-commune road is also a black spot where accidents often occur. During rush hour, because this intersection is near the market and school, traffic is quite chaotic. Photo: Van Hai |
A representative of the Provincial Traffic Safety Committee shared: It is expected that the second phase of the 72m road will be carried out in a more synchronous and modern manner, at which time there will be a service road to limit the number of residential cross-roads that cross the 72m road as it is now. However, in the immediate future, to minimize traffic accidents, priority must be given to propaganda and traffic guidance for people, especially young people, teenagers and students, to travel safely and properly.
According to the plan, by June 30, the Vinh - Cua Lo 72m road project, invested by the board, will be completed and phase 1 of the project will be handed over to the province. However, to ensure traffic safety and aesthetics on this key traffic route, the province and Vinh city need to continue efforts to relocate 20 households (14 households in Nghi Phu commune and 6 households in Nghi Duc commune). The problem is that the households that have not been relocated are currently living in the median strip or sidewalk corridor, but visibility is still limited; it is difficult for units to construct and complete traffic signal items and sidewalk ditches according to the design.
