Potholes cover the highway
In mid-December 2024, National Highway 19 through An Nhon town, Tay Son district; National Highway 1A through Tuy Phuoc district and National Highway 1D through Quy Nhon city were covered with potholes, gravel and rocks covering many sections of the road, seriously affecting traffic and posing many potential risks of accidents.
Talking about the situation of "everytime it rains, it breaks down" on National Highway 1A, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Quyen (40 years old, living in Tuy Phuoc town, Tuy Phuoc district) could only shake her head in disappointment.
“When it rains, potholes appear on the road surface. People (the construction unit - PV) come to fix it but in a temporary, patchy way. Only 2-3 days later, the newly repaired potholes are "ulcerated", with rocks and stones all over the road surface, very dangerous! I have to use old clothes, tree branches... to make warning signals for passersby, because at night the potholes are no different from "traps", very unsafe" - Ms. Quyen complained.
Speaking to Lao Dong, Mr. Tran Thai Hoa - Head of Road Management Office III.4 (Road Management Area III) - said that the section of National Highway 1A through Tuy Phuoc district is managed and operated by the Nam Binh Dinh BOT Toll Station. A few days ago, the Office requested the toll station to increase inspection and repair of damaged road surfaces on the route.
Regarding the deterioration of the section of National Highway 1A operated by the Nam Binh Dinh BOT Toll Station, according to Station Chief Nguyen Van Phon, every day they send people to inspect and repair damaged areas. However, the repairs are only temporary because "the weather is not supportive". Mr. Phon also admitted that the situation of "every time it rains, it breaks down" on National Highway 1A has been going on for many years.
"QL1A has been in operation for ten years, but there is no funding to upgrade it. Recently, the unit has asked the Vietnam Road Administration for funding to upgrade this route. After Tet, after the proposal is approved, the unit will start to thoroughly repair the damage," said Mr. Phon.
There is a written request for correction.
Assessing the current status of the national highways passing through the province, the leaders of the Department of Transport of Binh Dinh province found that National Highway 1A, National Highway 1D, and National Highway 19 are in a state of disrepair and damage, causing inconvenience to people's travel. The Department has sent a document requesting management units to remedy this situation.
"Currently, the management and exploitation units of the national highways have sent people to repair the potholes, but they only use loose materials to patch them up to suit the rainy weather. This is a temporary method, simply filling in the sunken areas, and cannot apply techniques to fix them when it rains," he said.
According to the leader of the Department of Transport, using loose materials to temporarily fix damaged areas also causes side effects, because the road surface will become more slippery when loose materials (gravel, rocks - PV) do not "stay in the nest". However, this is the responsibility of the management units, who must regularly send people to be on duty, handling and clearing gravel and rocks at damaged areas, because "having small children to worry about".
Nguyen Van Chien, Chief of Office of the Traffic Safety Committee of Binh Dinh Province, said that after inspection, National Highway 1A through the province appeared to have peeling and potholes. The Committee has recommended that Road Management Area III immediately ensure traffic safety on the route and urge the route management unit to immediately repair the damage.
"When it rains, the road surface is easily peeled off. Along with that, there are currently many heavy-duty vehicles running on National Highway 1A, National Highway 1D, National Highway 19, which can easily damage the road surface. The Board has issued documents urging and requesting the route management units, investors of BOT Bac Binh Dinh, BOT Nam Binh Dinh, BOT 36.71 to repair the damage to the road surface in the sections managed and operated by the units," said Mr. Chien.
Regarding doubts about the quality of national highways because "whenever it rains, they are damaged", Mr. Nguyen Van Chien said that it is difficult to assess the quality and said that he will continue to check the actual repair work of the road management units immediately after sending the petition.
