misery when traveling on a degraded road
The 256km provincial road is more than 63km long, starting at Km 0+00 intersecting with National Highway 3 at Km 118+700 in Cho Moi town, ending at the intersection with National Highway 3B in Tran Phu commune, Na Ri district (Bac Kan) as the main traffic axis of Bac Kan province. After many years of use, the road surface has seriously degraded.
According to Lao Dong Newspaper reporters at the end of April 2025, some sections through Nhu Co and Yen Han communes (Cho Moi district) were peeling and cracked, the road surface was full of "potholes" right in the middle of the road, posing a potential risk to traffic safety in the area.
As a household living near this road, Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh (Nhu Co commune, Cho Moi district) said that the damage has lasted for many years but has not been completely repaired. The road surface is bumpy in many sections, and every time it rains, water stagnates into large puddles, while on sunny days, dust flies everywhere, seriously affecting daily life and traffic safety.
"This route has a lot of traffic, including many cars and trucks. If the motorbike is not paying attention, going into a pothole, it is easy to lose control, if it falls at the right time when a large motorbike is approaching, the consequences are unpredictable. What we hope for right now is that the road will be repaired soon to make travel convenient, no longer the scene of anxiety," Mr. Thanh shared more.
Sharing the same anxiety, Mr. Nguyen Van An - a freight driver traveling regularly on the 256 provincial road said that every time he passes through here, he has to proactively reduce speed to avoid risks. The road surface has been damaged for a long time, many sections have large potholes, just a lack of observation can easily cause loss of control.
"The most dangerous thing is on rainy days, when the water stagnates into a swamp, the road surface is slippery, making it even more difficult to control vehicles. I hope the road will be upgraded soon to ensure the safety of all traffic participants," said Mr. An.
Lack of funding, only small sections can be fixed
According to the People's Committee of Nhu Co commune (Cho Moi district), the deterioration of road 256 has occurred for many years, directly affecting people's travel, trade and daily life. Proposals from the commune have been sent to the district and province, hoping that the road will soon be upgraded synchronously to ensure safety and local economic development.
Regarding the incident, Mr. Phung Duc Hanh - Director of the Management and Maintenance Board of Bac Kan Road Works (under the Department of Construction of Bac Kan province) - said that the 256 road was built in 2002 according to the standards of grade VI mountainous areas, with asphalt gravel and road surface.
From 2012 to now, the Department of Construction is a route management unit, annually allocating maintenance funding. However, due to limited budget, each year can only be repaired from 2 - 4km, mainly handling the most serious damage points. Currently, the Department is surveying the entire route to propose the province to allocate more repair capital in the coming time.
In addition to being exploited for a long time, another reason for the rapid deterioration of the road is that many sections are often used by heavy trucks. Meanwhile, the old structure makes maintenance and repair work difficult.
While waiting for a solution, people here still have to continue moving on the damaged road and face the dusty sun, muddy rain as well as the constant danger of accidents.
