Road degradation, people are worried
The inter-commune road connecting Ban Cam village, Phong Hai commune to Ban Lau commune is about 10km long, a vital route for trade, transportation of agricultural products, construction materials and necessities between low-lying and highland villages of Lao Cai province.
However, for many years, this road has been in a state of serious degradation, many sections are severely damaged, with potholes, some locations have landslides, peeling and bare rocks.
In mid-October, according to a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, in Ban Cam village, cracks and deep holes appeared densely, causing drivers to constantly avoid them.
Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, a resident of Phong Hai commune, lamented: "This road has been broken for a long time, with many potholes, so it is miserable wherever you go. Therefore, local people really hope that authorities at all levels will pay attention to investing in upgrading".
Many households living along the road also have difficulties in daily life. Every time someone is sick and has to go to the emergency room or students go to school, they have to take a longer detour, which is time-consuming and poses a potential risk of insecurity.
Local authorities recommend investment
A representative of the Economic Department of Phong Hai commune informed that a series of degraded routes are currently in the investment proposal list for the 2026-2030 period, but due to lack of funding, it has not been possible to implement.
According to statistics from the People's Committee of Phong Hai commune, Lao Cai province has approved the investment policy for 7 projects to upgrade and renovate provincial roads and degraded connecting routes. Along with that are 33 projects to upgrade and open new inter-village and inter-commune roads. These projects are waiting for capital allocation for implementation.
Speaking with Lao Dong, Mr. Vu Trung Dung - Chairman of Phong Hai Commune People's Committee - said that the recent storms in September and October also partly affected the local transport infrastructure. However, with few landslides, people will fix them themselves, while on national and provincial highways, the maintenance committee will do it.
According to Chairman of Phong Hai Commune People's Committee Vu Trung Dung, there are many degraded roads in the commune that need to be renovated, upgraded, and expanded... Currently, after coming into operation with the two-level government, the locality has made a proposal in medium-term public investment and proposed to the province to arrange capital for implementation.
"If renovated and expanded, the roads will make an important contribution to the development of the local economy," Mr. Dung informed.
In Lao Cai, many invested traffic routes have helped change the face of mountainous communes significantly. However, there are still many traffic routes that have degraded but have not been upgraded in time.
According to reports from functional agencies of Lao Cai province, investment in rural infrastructure needs to be given priority, especially inter-commune and inter-village roads that are seriously degraded. This not only creates favorable conditions for people to travel and trade, but also contributes significantly to building new rural areas and sustainable poverty reduction.
