Discharge BOT station if congestion exceeds 700m

Simultaneously develop plans to ensure traffic safety

The Ministry of Transport has issued a document requesting BOT investors to ensure traffic flow and avoid congestion during the Lunar New Year. To implement this policy, BOT investors said they have proactively developed response plans to ensure traffic safety, and at the same time, have plans to release stations to ensure smooth traffic during the peak Tet holiday.

As the management unit of Phap Van - Cau Gie Expressway, the main artery of the southern gateway of Hanoi Capital, which often experiences traffic jams during holidays and Tet, Mr. Pham Van Khoi, Chairman of the Board of Directors, General Director of Phap Van - Cau Gie BOT Joint Stock Company, said that the unit has prepared a plan to open 3 toll lanes in the opposite direction of Cau Gie - Phap Van to reduce the overload of vehicles coming from the center of Hanoi to the South at the same time in the days before Tet.

“We will arrange forces to regulate and direct traffic from a distance at toll stations and coordinate with traffic police to strengthen inspection, control and immediately handle incidents on the road,” said Mr. Khoi.

More decisively, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Quang, Director of BOT Branch 319 Song Phan (National Highway 1, Binh Thuan) said that the unit has developed a plan to ensure traffic safety and has a plan to divide lanes and flow to avoid traffic congestion. In addition, the force at the station also closely coordinates with the Traffic Police, Mobile Police, Traffic Police, and local authorities to ensure security and order, and divide traffic from a distance to increase vehicle exit capacity, avoiding traffic congestion in the toll station area.

In case of prolonged traffic congestion, toll stations will be opened according to regulations to ensure smooth traffic, creating favorable conditions for vehicles traveling during Tet.

Directly managing, exploiting and operating the three largest expressway projects in the country, namely Noi Bai - Lao Cai, Cau Gie - Ninh Binh and Da Nang - Quang Ngai, Mr. Uong Huy Hoang, Director of Vietnam Expressway Operation and Maintenance Company (VEC O&M) (Vietnam Expressway Corporation) said: "The plan we propose will open overlapping lanes and open opposite lanes at toll stations during peak hours when the number of vehicles increases suddenly in one direction. At the same time, we will also arrange forces to be on duty to regulate, divide lanes and sell tickets remotely at toll stations when the number of vehicles is large to ensure that vehicles move as quickly as possible when passing through the stations."

According to Mr. Ha Ngoc Nam, Deputy Director of Rach Mieu Bridge BOT Company, the unit has a plan to coordinate with the traffic police, provincial traffic inspectors and district and commune police to ensure traffic safety at the toll station before and after Tet. When there is traffic congestion, the station will not collect tolls. "When there is congestion, all lanes in front and behind the station are very crowded with vehicles. Therefore, even if the station is released, vehicles cannot move immediately but have to wait for the traffic police and traffic inspectors to regulate," said Mr. Nam.

Discharge station if congestion is 700m or more

Traffic congestion at BOT points along National Highway 1 will certainly greatly affect people's travel, especially before, during and after Tet. Concerned that during Tet, drivers will use small change to pay for tickets, stop at toll booths, causing traffic jams, Mr. Nguyen Van Huyen, Director General of the Vietnam Road Administration, said that drivers should not use negative measures to cause traffic jams, affecting people who have jobs and need to travel quickly.

“We should not react by obstructing traffic and affecting many other people. We have instructed the BOT station to install two separate lanes on the roadside to handle questions and complaints about the fee. Any vehicle with questions or complaints should come there to resolve the issue, leaving the road for other vehicles,” Mr. Huyen said.

According to Mr. Huyen, to ensure smooth and safe traffic through toll stations, the Ministry of Transport has directed BOT investors to release the station to resolve the congestion when there is a traffic jam of 700m or more due to any problem.

“Along with putting up signs prohibiting vehicles from stopping for more than 5 minutes at toll stations, the Vietnam Road Administration has sent 7 working groups to work with BOT investors and localities to increase propaganda and strictly handle drivers who intentionally cause traffic jams at toll stations, ensuring smooth traffic conditions for people, especially before, during and after the Lunar New Year 2018,” said Mr. Huyen.

“In the long term, to reduce congestion at toll stations, it is necessary to apply non-stop automatic toll collection. After completing the deployment of 28 stations on National Highway 1 and Ho Chi Minh Road, the General Department will urge all stations managed by the Ministry of Transport and localities to install automatic toll collection. This must be completed in 2019 according to the Prime Minister's direction,” Mr. Huyen said, affirming: “Automatic toll collection helps vehicles pass through the station faster, reducing congestion. At that time, vehicles with VETC cards installed on the route will no longer encounter any obstacles, ensuring smooth traffic, avoiding frustration due to congestion like during Tet. The most important thing is to help manage transparent toll collection at the stations.”