Roads are shattered, houses vibrate to the rhythm of trucks
Every day, hundreds of tractor trucks carrying white stone exceeding the load are freely plowing Provincial Road 170 (section passing through Muong Lai commune, Lao Cai province). This situation not only causes traffic infrastructure to be devastated and dusty, but also pushes the Trung Thanh bridge with a load of only 10 tons into a "life-threatening" situation.
Having a house located next to the road in Tong Tang village, Ms. Doan Thi Nga said that the lives of her family and dozens of surrounding households have been completely disrupted since the stone mines went into vigorous operation. Every day, convoys of "tiger trucks" and tractor-trailers line up to move no matter day or night.
After each trip, white dust rolls up like fog, all overflowing into the house. Just look at the road surface, potholes and craters are cluttered, the roads are all broken" - Ms. Nga said.
According to the actual records of reporters, on May 11, in just less than 30 minutes, there were more than 10 turns of 4-5-legged tractor trucks (loading over 30 tons), carrying white stones "with tops" in a row, passing by.
Notably, despite traveling on a densely populated provincial road, many vehicles still run at high speeds, making the road surface more seriously degraded. Many asphalt patches peel off, revealing scattered rocks, forming "traps" for traffic participants.
10-ton bridge carrying a convoy of tractor trucks
More serious is the condition of Trung Thanh bridge located on this route. Although the permitted load limit is only 10 tons, every day the bridge is burdened by the weight of tractor-trailers with a total load of up to 30 - 40 tons.
Ms. Luong Thi Hoa, a local resident who regularly travels through this area, worried: "Every time a truck passes by, standing on the bridge, you can clearly feel the shaking, feeling like the bridge could collapse at any time.
Observing at the foot of Trung Thanh bridge, reporters recorded that about 5 large cracks have clearly appeared on the body and pillars of the bridge. These cracks tend to spread wide, intertwined with each other, directly threatening the load-bearing structure of the project.
Talking to PV of Lao Dong Newspaper about this issue, Mr. Nong Thanh Son - Vice Chairman of Muong Lai Commune People's Committee - admitted that people's reflections are well-founded. Mr. Son said: "In the past time, on DT 170 route, there have been many vehicles of stone transport companies running through, causing noise and dust, seriously affecting people's lives. In the coming time, local authorities will direct the Commune Police force to coordinate patrols and control of heavy trucks.
In the long term, the leader of Muong Lai commune said that Provincial Road 170 has been included in the medium-term public investment plan for the period 2026 - 2030, prioritizing the repair of damaged sections and weak bridges.
However, while waiting for the project to be implemented, people in Muong Lai commune still have to cross the degraded bridge every day, living with dust, noise and anxiety from large truck convoys running in a row.
