It is necessary to upgrade Noi Bai - Bac Ninh route into an expressway.

Traffic volume on National Highway 18, Noi Bai - Bac Ninh section, is very large, about 60,000 CPUs, while after more than 17 years of operation, the current road surface has degraded, many cracks have appeared, and the road surface strength is no longer guaranteed.

Thang Long Project Management Board has just submitted a document to the Ministry of Construction for consideration and approval of the investment policy for the project to upgrade the Noi Bai - Bac Ninh route.

Traffic is very heavy, road surface is degraded

Giving the reason for the proposal, the project management unit said that National Highway 18, Noi Bai - Bac Ninh section, was invested in and built since 2004 according to expressway standards, and is currently operating at a speed of 80 km/h due to the lack of investment in some items such as traffic safety systems (corrugated iron railings in the median strip, protective fences on both sides of the road, etc.), and is being operated with motorbikes.

According to calculations, the traffic volume on National Highway 18, Noi Bai - Bac Ninh section, is very large, about 60,000 CPUs, while after more than 17 years of operation, the current road surface has degraded, many cracks have appeared, the road surface strength is no longer guaranteed, reducing the traffic capacity, traffic on the route is constantly congested, especially during rush hours.

"The study to upgrade National Highway 18 from Noi Bai to Bac Ninh into an expressway is considered very necessary to separate rudimentary vehicles and motorbikes from the route, ensure traffic safety, improve exploitation capacity, contribute to completing the route according to the plan, and close the Capital's Ring Road 4", said the Thang Long Project Management Board.

According to the proposed plan, the project investment scope is nearly 33km long. The starting point is at Km1-606.20 on National Highway 18 (the starting point of Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway) in Thanh Xuan Commune, Soc Son District, Hanoi. The end point is at Km31+200 on National Highway 18 (the starting point of the intersection of National Highway 18 with Hanoi - Bac Giang Expressway) in Vo Cuong Ward, Bac Ninh City, Bac Ninh Province.

Total investment over 2,800 billion VND

Based on the current status of the route, the approved planning, and comparing the implementation cost factors, Thang Long Project Management Board proposes that the section from Hanoi - Lao Cai expressway tunnel (Km1-606.20) to Km12+500 with a length of more than 14km be renovated according to the standards of a 4-lane urban main road.

The section from Km12+500 - Km31+200 is nearly 19km long and is upgraded to expressway standards with a scale of 4 lanes, a road surface width of 15m, separating motorbikes and rudimentary vehicles from the route to organize them onto national highways and provincial roads along the route.

This phase retains the grade separations, closing the intersections with direct connections to the project.

With the above plan, the total preliminary investment of the project is about more than 2,800 billion VND proposed to be taken from the state budget. Of which, construction cost is more than 1,800 billion VND; Site clearance cost is about 375 billion VND; Project management, consulting and other costs are more than 270 billion VND; Contingency cost is nearly 367 billion VND.

According to the Road Network Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050 approved by the Government, the CT09 Noi Bai - Bac Ninh - Ha Long expressway will be invested before 2030 with a scale of 6 lanes. Of which, the Noi Bai - Bac Ninh section is about 30 km long, the Bac Ninh - Hai Duong section is 22 km long and the Hai Duong - Ha Long section is 94 km long.

National Highway 18 is 324 km long, passing through Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong and Quang Ninh. The Noi Bai - Bac Ninh section is about 30 km long, currently with 4 lanes, and was invested in 2004. This is a vital route, connecting important highways in the Northern region such as Noi Bai - Lao Cai, Hanoi - Thai Nguyen, Hanoi - Bac Ninh - Bac Giang, as well as National Highways 1, 3 and major urban traffic axes in the Hanoi capital region such as Vo Van Kiet Street and Vo Nguyen Giap Street.

Phan Trang

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/can-thiet-nang-cap-tuyen-noi-bai-bac-ninh-thanh-duong-cao-toc-102250418130449953.htm