During the construction of the rest stop in the area of km1068 - km1069 of the Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon expressway, a large amount of dust arose and spread densely onto the road surface. At times, dust covered it white like fog, making it difficult for vehicles traveling on the route to observe, especially when moving at high speeds.
Many drivers said that thick dust significantly narrows visibility, making it difficult to identify vehicles in front. The risk of unsafety increases at curved sections, which already limit visibility.
Initially, functional agencies determined that the main cause stemmed from the transportation of soil to serve the leveling of the rest stop ground. During construction, mud and soil fell onto the road surface, but slow cleaning caused the soil to dry out, and when vehicles passed through, dust spread strongly.
The construction contractor explained that the watering truck serving dust treatment had a malfunction and could not operate, leading to incoming dust control.
The investor of the rest stop, the Petrolimex joint venture, has requested the contractor to stop construction, urgently clean the road surface, collect mud and soil and only resume when ensuring conditions on traffic safety and environmental sanitation.
Previously, the Traffic Police Department also issued a document requesting relevant units to rectify, not to let vehicles and machinery pull mud and soil onto the road surface, causing dust, reducing visibility and affecting the safety of traffic participants. At the same time, it is recommended that vehicles passing through the area need to reduce speed and pay attention to observation during the incident recovery period.
On May 18, the leader of the Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon expressway project management board said that the board has requested the investor and construction unit of Dinh Cuong rest stop in Quang Ngai province to temporarily suspend operations to handle the situation of thick dust obscuring visibility on the route.
Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon expressway is the largest-scale project among the 12 component projects of the North-South Expressway in the East phase 2021-2025. The route is 88 km long, passing through Quang Ngai and Gia Lai provinces, with a total investment of more than 20,400 billion VND. The project was put into operation from the end of April 2026.
