The Lo Te - Rach Soi route is more than 51 km long, 17 m wide, including 4 lanes, designed with a speed of 80 km/h. The route started construction in 2016, and was opened to traffic in early 2021, with a total investment of more than VND6,300 billion. This is an important traffic axis connecting the center of the Mekong Delta, passing through Can Tho City and An Giang Province (formerly Kien Giang).
However, after only 3 years of operation, the route has revealed serious deterioration points. Many sections have potholes, peeling road surfaces, posing a potential risk of traffic accidents, especially during the rainy season. According to records, some sections take drivers up to 1.5 to 2 hours to get through the route of just over 50 km
Faced with the above situation, in mid-2024, the Ministry of Transport assigned the My Thuan Project Management Board to be the investor to implement the project to upgrade the entire route, with a total investment of about 750 billion VND from the state budget. The project does not clear new land, focusing on renovating the roadbed - road surface and traffic safety infrastructure system.
Mr. Le Duc Tuan - Deputy Director of My Thuan Project Management Board - said that the project uses the technology of scraping and recycling road foundations, then paving the road surface with two layers of high-quality asphalt concrete. At the same time, 48 culverts along the route have been reinforced, and the traffic safety system has been upgraded to meet national standards.
As of early September 2025, the project has completed 97% of the volume. The entire road surface has been paved with asphalt, flat, and airy. The locations that used to have potholes have now been thoroughly treated, helping vehicles to circulate smoothly.
Driver Nguyen Thanh Danh (35 years old, Chau Doc ward, An Giang province) shared that more than a year ago, the road was degraded, a 2.5-ton truck carrying shrimp from Ca Mau to An Giang took nearly 2 hours. Now the asphalt road surface is new, vehicles run comfortably, less than an hour to get there.
The final items such as painting the lane markings, installing traffic signs and completing 20 emergency stops are being urgently constructed. Each stop is 270 m long and 3.5 m wide, arranged on both sides of the route to serve vehicles when there is an incident.
At the construction site, the construction atmosphere is still urgent with 22 simultaneous construction teams, more than 200 technical staff, workers, and 80 machines and equipment operating continuously.
While fixing the median strip between the lines, worker Nguyen Van Thien said that he and everyone have been working for nearly a year, now there are only a few days left to complete all items.
The Lo Te - Rach Soi route plays a strategic role in the transportation system of the Mekong Delta. The route not only helps connect Can Tho - An Giang - Ca Mau but also connects with route N2, helping vehicles from Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai move to the West without having to go through National Highway 1A.
In the future, the route will continue to be invested in upgrading to a scale of 6 lanes, the road surface is made of asphalt concrete, with a design speed of 100 km/h. This is part of the strategy to complete the transport infrastructure of the Southern region, reduce pressure on National Highway 1A and contribute to the economic development of the region.
It is expected that the entire upgrading project will be completed in September 2025, marking an important transformation of the expressway that was once expected to be the western backbone of the Mekong Delta.
