On August 11, speaking with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Hong Tu - Deputy Director of Vietnam Expressway Service Joint Stock Company (VECS) said: The unit is coordinating with the authorities to urgently overcome the landslide at Km241+700 on the Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway.
The serious landslide occurred in early August, the section passing through Lao Cai province greatly affected the traffic lane towards Hanoi.
The landslide had occurred in this area for about a week before, but by August 3, the situation continued to recur at a more serious level. Soil and rocks from the negative slope slide down close to the edge of the road, posing a potential risk to the safety of vehicles.
Immediately after discovering the incident, the expressway operator promptly implemented a temporary traffic diversion plan. Vehicles heading towards Hanoi are allowed to leave the highway, move along National Highway 4E and re-enter the IC17 intersection (Xuan Giao), to ensure smooth traffic.
After clearing the soil and rocks for traffic in step 1, the authorities continued to level the remaining land on the road and regulate and ensure traffic safety.
Recorded at the scene, the landslide area was not too high and had been reinforced in advance with an iron system, steel grille and a layer of concrete sprayed on the surface - a technical solution to limit landslides.
Currently, many workers and drivers are on duty at the scene, and teams are arranged to work 24/24 hours.
"The initial cause was determined to be due to prolonged heavy rain over many days, causing water to penetrate deeply, disconnecting the soil and rock structure at the positive slope, leading to landslides. It is expected that the work of repairing the soil and rocks that have spilled onto the road will be completed in the next 10 days, Mr. Nguyen Hong Tu informed.
The authorities recommend that people and vehicles traveling through the Km241+700 area of the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway should proactively reduce speed, observe the warning sign system and strictly follow the instructions of the regulating forces to ensure safety.
