Close your eyes to avoid potholes
Recently, traffic participants have been traveling through National Highway 61 from Ben Nhut Bridge to Dinh Hoa Commune in a state of fear.
There are many potholes created by the broken road surface, which is even more dangerous when in the rainy and stormy season, the water is muddy and covers the view.
Mr. Tran Van Chien, who travels through this road, said that he goes to work and travels back and forth on this road, every time he goes, it is an obsession.
"Normally, when going back to Rach Gia, there are times when this road is not as long, but since it was damaged, the travel time must have doubled. Not to mention students and the elderly running around is very dangerous. Now that it is raining, the wider and deeper the tank is, the more the vehicle crashed and collapsed, causing injuries" - Mr. Chien shared.
Ms. Duong Kim Lien - a resident of Dinh Hoa commune - said: Every day she travels back and forth many times on this route to sell lottery tickets. Although only riding a bicycle, it was very difficult to move around and avoid the trip.
"I was scared, there were many vehicles, big vehicles with all kinds of things, and the damaged road was too dangerous to run. When it was too damaged, they saw that there was soil and rocks poured down to repair the section, but after a few days, the damage continued. People are eagerly hoping to repair the road soon to make travel more convenient and safe, making business and travel easier" - Ms. Lien confided.
Resolutely hope to repair the road
Ms. Hua Thi Hi (70 years old), a resident of Dinh Hoa commune, said that she often sells lottery tickets on this route, but since the damage was so bad, she did not dare to drive but had to walk.
Chairman of Dinh Hoa Commune People's Committee Ngo Thanh Hung said that the entire Dinh Hoa commune (after the merger) has 43.96km of main traffic managed by the commune, with 15.2km of traffic managed by the province and the Central Government. Of which, National Highway 61 passing through the commune is about 10-13km long (km67+150-Km77+250). National Highway 61 from Ben Nhut Bridge (Long Thanh Commune) to the headquarters of the People's Committee of Dinh Hoa Commune, then to Rach Tia Bridge, Go Quao Commune is seriously degraded.
The locality has recorded peeling, loose, and many deep holes throughout the road, making it very difficult to move, especially for motorbikes or small cars. The situation is more serious such as muddy road surfaces and stagnant water in the holes during rain. During the dry season, the road is dusty, affecting people on both sides of the road and making it increasingly difficult for vehicles to travel.
Many times of contact with voters to reflect and propose upgrading and repairing, but so far it has not been considered, Mr. Hung said.
"The commune also recommended that the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Construction consider allocating funds for emergency repairs in the last months of 2025 to ensure smooth and safe traffic, serving the travel needs of people and the needs of goods transportation. Because this is a vital route to transport goods to neighboring areas and connect with provinces and cities in the region" - Mr. Hung informed.
According to the report of the provincial Department of Construction (August 31, 2025) on the emergency repair of National Highway 61, section Km67+174-Km77+250, An Giang province (the section overlapping with Ho Chi Minh road) to the Provincial People's Committee.
The Department of Construction of An Giang province has coordinated with Road Management Area IV on handing over the section of National Highway 61 from Km67+174 - Km94+273, National Highway 61 to Road Management Area IV for management, exploitation and maintenance.
National Highway 61, section Km67+150 - Km77+250 (parallel to Ho Chi Minh Road), An Giang province has been invested in the investment project to build the Ho Chi Minh road, previously with a scale of a level III plain road (Bong 12m, Bmat =11m), with a road surface structure of asphalt gravel, completed and put into operation in 2016. In recent years, the Department of Construction has carried out maintenance with regular maintenance funds to maintain the route's exploitation capacity.
The Department has repeatedly proposed maintenance plans for mid-range and large-range repairs but has not been approved.
The Department of Construction affirmed that the crushed stone road surface has been used for many years and has not been upgraded, combined with the impact of weather and climate change, causing local damage. The Department of Construction has directed the maintenance and patching of severely damaged areas, but if not repaired promptly, the road will continue to be damaged and there is a risk of traffic insecurity.
