The project to expand the Yen Bai - Lao Cai section of the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway has a total length of 121km, with a total investment of nearly 7,700 billion VND invested by Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC).
According to the design, the route will be expanded from 2 to 4 lanes, with a roadbed width of 24m. On the route, there is a 530m long Dai Viet tunnel, with a scale of 3 lanes, constructed by Song Da 10 MTV Co., Ltd.
In the heart of the mountain, where the humidity is high and the temperature is always lower than outside, each drill bit still steadily goes deep into the rock.
Mr. Phung Duc Tue - Construction site commander of Song Da Company 10.1 - said that the unit organized continuous construction, without days off.
Each meter of tunnel being dug is the result of a tightly coordinated production line: drilling, blasting, excavating, spraying concrete, reinforcing tunnel arches. Just one step slow down, the entire progress will be affected," Mr. Tue said.
To ensure safety and progress, more than 70 engineers and workers divided up to stick to the machine day and night. According to worker Ngo Duy Ngoc, they have been used to working overnight for more than two months now.
The night shift is the hardest when it's near dawn, cold and humid, people are easily tired. But brothers encourage each other to try harder, because the faster we work, the more convenient people travel," Mr. Ngoc shared.
In the same team as Mr. Ngoc, Mr. Nguyen Viet Vinh is in charge of checking and reinforcing the iron welds of the vault.
Building tunnels does not allow errors. Each weld must be carefully checked, ensuring technical correctness before confidently moving to the next stage. Tired is tiring, but looking at the rock gradually receding, seeing the tunnel getting longer day by day gives the brothers more motivation," Mr. Vinh said.
Mid-shift meals are carefully prepared by the unit right at the construction site, ensuring sufficient nutrition for workers working at high intensity. Temporary houses and mid-shift rest areas are arranged closedly, keeping warm, helping workers recover their health before starting a new shift.
According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Thanh - official of the Northern Expressway Project Management Board (VEC), to date, the unit has drilled about 150m on the total length of 530m of Dai Viet tunnel.
In which, the tunnel entrance towards Lao Cai has been excavated and reinforced to reach 86m, exceeding the plan by 26m; the tunnel entrance towards Hanoi reached 74m, exceeding 27m. Overall, the tunnel construction progress is exceeding the plan by nearly 30 days.
Leaders of the Northern Expressway Project Management Board emphasized that accelerating the progress of Dai Viet tunnel is identified as one of the "key points" of the entire expansion project.
When completed, the expressway will increase traffic capacity, reduce congestion, and shorten travel time between the northern midlands and mountainous provinces and Hanoi Capital.
