Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway 83km long, only 2 lanes, no hard divider, overloaded

According to a document from the Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee, the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway, from Yen Bai to Lao Cai, is currently overloaded, degraded and has only 2 lanes, without a hard median strip in the middle.

Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway has only 2 lanes in the Yen Bai - Lao Cai section

On March 6, Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee issued Document No. 1048 requesting to expand Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway (Yen Bai - Lao Cai section) to 4 lanes according to Official Dispatch No. 16/CD-TTg dated February 21, 2024 of the Prime Minister.

According to Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee, Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway has been put into operation since 2014, in which the Noi Bai - Yen Bai section has been invested with a scale of 4 lanes.

However, the Yen Bai - Lao Cai section alone is about 121km long, currently about 38km has been invested in a 4-lane road surface, the remaining 83km of road surface has only reached the scale of 2 lanes and has no hard median strip in the middle. After 10 years of operation, the road surface has degraded, while the current traffic volume on the route has increased, posing a high risk of traffic safety.

According to calculations by the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC), with its current scale, this road section cannot meet traffic demand and is expected to exceed its capacity by 2025.

For the above reasons, in the official dispatch dated March 6, Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee requested the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises and the Ministry of Transport to report to the Prime Minister for consideration and early priority investment in upgrading and expanding the Yen Bai - Lao Cai expressway section to 4 lanes according to the plan that VEC reported to the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises and implement immediately in the period of 2024-2025.

On the same day, March 6, the Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee held a serious meeting to review and evaluate the particularly serious traffic accident (which killed 4 teenagers due to going in the wrong direction) that occurred on February 14 on the Noi Bai - Lao Cai Expressway (at Km 261+700, in Group 2, Duyen Hai Ward, Lao Cai City). The Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Khuat Viet Hung and Chairman of the Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee Trinh Xuan Truong chaired the meeting.

Mr. Khuat Viet Hung spoke at the meeting on March 6. Photo by Lao Cai Newspaper

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Khuat Viet Hung requested that the authorities investigate, clarify and handle the responsibilities of organizations and individuals related to particularly serious traffic accidents.

VAN PHUC

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cao-toc-noi-bai-lao-cai-83km-chi-2-lan-xe-khong-dai-phan-cach-cung-dang-qua-tai-post729558.html