Proposal for planning and investment in construction of elevated National Highway 5

National Highway 5 is 116 km long and is a vital route in the Northern region. It has been put into operation since 1998 as a grade II plain road.

A section of National Highway 5 through Hai Duong.

The Hai Duong Department of Transport has just proposed that the Ministry of Transport consider planning and investing in the construction of the elevated National Highway 5.

According to the Hai Duong Department of Transport, the investment plan to build an elevated National Highway 5 has many more advantages than the plan to expand the existing National Highway 5.

Specifically, this option helps to avoid having to arrange new land funds, save land, and use land effectively and intelligently because there is no need for expansion; no need to clear land on the main route (this is one of the bottlenecks when implementing transport infrastructure projects, which are also the points of complaints); especially no need to clear land in industrial parks, clusters, and existing residential areas on both sides of the route, thereby significantly reducing investment costs.

In addition, the elevated National Highway 5 Project, when put into operation, will ensure the design speed, significantly saving travel time; solving the shortcomings of traffic infrastructure, especially at intersections at the same level, minimizing traffic accidents.

The construction of National Highway 5 on an elevated route also helps to proactively plan construction and shorten project implementation progress.

It is known that National Highway 5 is the main artery in the Northern region, put into operation since 1998 with the scale of a level II plain road (from 4-8 lanes). The route has been considered by localities as an economic development axis, especially large vehicles going to and from Hai Phong ports with very high traffic volume/day.

In recent years, localities have gradually invested in a number of National Highway 5 feeder roads. In addition, in 2015, the Hanoi - Hai Phong expressway was opened to traffic, which has also shared part of the traffic volume on National Highway 5.

However, Highway 5 has long been overloaded (according to the management unit's vehicle count data, the actual traffic volume is currently over 90,000 vehicles/day, exceeding the design traffic volume by 6 times). The operating speed on Highway 5 is only 50-60 km/h for cars, which is 50-60% of the design speed.

According to the Hai Duong Department of Transport, the traffic accident situation on the route is extremely complicated, with frequent congestion, especially during rush hour. The section through Hai Duong province alone is 44 km long, but from 2021 to now, there have been 228 accidents, accounting for 18%; killing 85 people, accounting for 13%; injuring 139 people, accounting for 16% of the total number of accidents, deaths and injuries in the province.

According to the Road Infrastructure Planning Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, which is being prepared by the Ministry of Transport, National Highway 5 will remain at its current size.

“Given the very important role of National Highway 5 now and in the future, early planning and investment in expansion or construction of an elevated road is very urgent and necessary, in order to meet the requirements of the economic development triangle of Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh, and to solve the overload situation and traffic safety on the route,” the leader of the Hai Duong Department of Transport assessed.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/de-xuat-quy-hoach-va-dau-tu-xay-dung-quoc-lo-5-di-tren-cao-d228896.html