Provincial roads "struggling" to carry vehicles

Provincial Road 394C through Cam Giang district is more than 10.8 km long and always has a high traffic density.

Exceeding design flow

Provincial Road 394C through Cam Giang District, formerly District Road 5B, is over 10.8 km long. From the old road, many sections have been widened, but some parts are "bulging" out, others are "tightened". Some sections of the road are only 5.5-6m wide, some are more than 10m wide. Many sections are narrow, with houses on both sides of the road, making the road even more cramped.

Provincial Road 394C passes through 6 communes and towns of Cam Giang district including Thach Loi, Dinh Son, Cam Van, Cam Vu, Cam Hoang and Cam Giang town, playing an important role in connecting trade. The average traffic volume is about 2,800 converted vehicles/day and night, 5.7 times higher than the design, posing a potential risk of traffic accidents.

Mr. Le Duc Tuan, a driver in Cam Giang town, said: "Provincial Road 394C through the town market intersection is quite narrow and has a lot of traffic. Many times the market is held on the road, making it difficult for large cars to turn, even having to climb onto the sidewalk to drive, which is very dangerous."

On September 6, at km 5+200 of Provincial Road 394C, the intersection between Provincial Road 394C and District Road 195B in Cam Hoang Commune (Cam Giang), a traffic accident occurred between a car and an electric motorbike, killing a 76-year-old man in Phuong Hoang Village, Cam Hoang Commune. This is one of three traffic accidents that occurred on Provincial Road 394C in the first 9 months of 2024. The accidents left one person dead and four injured.

Provincial Road 394C near Cam Giang town market is quite narrow, making it difficult for large vehicles to turn (photo provided by readers)

Considered the "backbone" traffic route of Kinh Mon town, Provincial Road 389 is not only important for internal traffic but also helps Kinh Mon connect with neighboring localities. However, this route also has the same situation of traffic exceeding the design. With a length of 24.4 km, Provincial Road 389 has to "struggle" to carry more than 8,000 converted vehicles/day and night, 2.7 times higher than the design traffic, including many heavy trucks and container trucks.

The road surface of Highway 389 is also not uniform, with some sections being 10.5 m wide but others only 7 m wide. This road has many businesses with many workers and 18 schools, passing through many densely populated residential areas... In the first 9 months of 2024, on Provincial Road 389, there were 27 traffic accidents and collisions, killing 10 people and injuring 24 others. This is one of the provincial roads with the most traffic accidents in Hai Duong.

Pay attention to periodic repairs

Provincial Road 389 through Kinh Mon town has actual traffic volume many times higher than the design.

Currently, the provincial road network is spread out with many vertical axes (390, 390B, 391, 392, North-South axis in the southern section, 394) and horizontal axes (389, 394C, 395, 393, 392, 396) interwoven, connecting the provincial road network with the national highway network, between provincial roads and provincial roads, between districts and connecting the province with neighboring provinces. The road density between regions is uneven, and some areas have weak connectivity. Most of the provincial roads were built a long time ago (19/24 routes before the 90s of the 20th century), the road surface structure is mainly asphalted crushed stone, asphalt infiltration, and asphalt concrete.

With an annual increase in vehicle speed of about 10,000 cars and 40,000 motorbikes, many provincial roads have traffic volumes much higher than their design capacity. To minimize traffic accidents, measures to limit speed through densely populated residential areas, limit large vehicles during rush hours, and limit vehicle weight on narrow, weak bridges have been implemented.

According to Circular No. 37/2018 and Circular No. 41/2021 of the Ministry of Transport regulating the management, operation, exploitation and maintenance of road works, the periodic repair period of asphalt concrete pavement is 5 years, asphalt pavement is 4 years, and cement concrete is 8 years. Therefore, all more than 400 km of provincial roads must be periodically repaired in the period of 2022 - 2030 (except for some provincial roads planned to be renovated and upgraded in basic construction investment projects and in the Provincial Road System Upgrade and Renovation Program proposed to be included in the public investment plan for the period of 2021 - 2025).

In 2022, the People's Committee of Hai Duong province issued a Project to strengthen the periodic repair of provincial and district roads in the period of 2022-2026, with a vision to 2030. The Project sets a target of striving to periodically repair about 130 km by the end of 2026, reaching 50% of the number of kilometers of provincial roads due or overdue for periodic repair.

In the past, the annual budget for periodic repairs was only enough to repair about 10-15 km of provincial roads, which did not meet the needs of the project. To realize the goal of periodic repairs reaching 100% of the km of provincial roads by 2030, it is necessary to focus on allocating more resources for this work.

According to the Hai Duong Department of Transport, currently 15/25 provincial roads have traffic exceeding the design capacity, causing difficulties in ensuring traffic safety. 65% of provincial roads are grade V and grade VI roads (road surface width from 3.5 - 5.5m, less than 2 standard lanes), the rest are grade II, grade III and grade IV roads. Asphalt road surface structure accounts for 56.01%, asphalt concrete road surface accounts for 40.42%, the rest are cement concrete roads. Poor road surface quality accounts for 58.03%, average accounts for 23.12%, good road surface accounts for only 18.85%.

From the beginning of the year to September 15, there were 174 traffic accidents and collisions on provincial roads, killing 60 people and injuring 143. In 2023, there were 59 traffic accidents and collisions on provincial roads, killing 36 people and injuring 32.

HA NGA

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/nhung-tuyen-duong-tinh-oan-minh-cong-phuong-tien-394136.html