"The bigger the road and the less awareness, the more tragic the accident"
Speaking at the group discussion on the socio-economic situation on the morning of October 26, at the 8th Session, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang said that during this term, the Government has given strong direction to upgrade 2-lane highways.
According to him, the National Assembly and Government's previous decision to develop a two-lane highway was reasonable, because in reality, many routes have very low traffic volume, but after a period of development, the need for upgrading is natural.
The Ministry of Transport is also upgrading expressways from 2 lanes to 4 lanes, and some limited 4 lane routes to full and larger ones. This is being implemented vigorously, some routes are investing.
Minister Nguyen Van Thang also shared that he went to Europe and saw many 4-lane highways still without emergency lanes, but people traveling on them were very aware. “At that point, people accepted to slow down and go slowly. Therefore, the road does not necessarily have to be big or wide. The bigger the road, but if awareness is not high, the more catastrophic the accident will be.”
Stating that more than 90% of the causes of traffic accidents come from the awareness of traffic participants, Mr. Nguyen Van Thang said that along with investing in traffic infrastructure, there must be many solutions to change and upgrade the habits and culture of traffic participants.
Sand mining must be at a moderate level.
Also at the group discussion session, there were opinions reflecting on the problem of sand scarcity for highway construction, especially in the context that the Mekong Delta region is implementing 600km of vertical axis and 600km of horizontal axis in the area.
The provinces and cities of the Mekong Delta are making great efforts to coordinate with the Ministry of Transport to implement the project, but the problem of sand scarcity is a very worrying problem for the localities. Key projects of the localities also need this sand source, so it is recommended that the ministries and branches need to calculate the plan, possibly constructing the expressway using the elevated viaduct option.
Responding to the above opinion, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang affirmed that in the Mekong Delta, there is currently no shortage of reserves, but because this term is implementing many expressways at the same time, demand has increased dramatically, while following the process and procedures is very time-consuming.
Currently, river sand has been licensed for about 40 million m3, and about 32 million m3 are being processed by localities. With sea sand as a substitute for the North-South expressways, Soc Trang has now made 5.5 million m3 for the Soc Trang-Can Tho expressway, which will significantly reduce the pressure on river sand. The Ministry of Transport will expand the pilot program to expressways in the North and Central regions and is expected to widely announce sea sand as a construction material nationwide by the end of this year.
However, he also cited expert opinions that sand mining leads to landslides, so it should be exploited at a moderate level to serve economic development but not negatively impact the environment.
In response to the proposal from many provinces in the West to build overpasses for some expressways, Mr. Nguyen Van Thang said the Ministry of Transport is studying and also really wants to do it. But the biggest difficulty and obstacle is the cost.
"According to calculations, following this plan would cost 3.1 times more than usual, and even if we try to reduce it, it would cost 2.5 times more. If we do it in the current difficult budget situation, it will not be possible," Minister Thang stated his opinion.
Furthermore, in the West, the overpass is only slightly higher than the road surface, so the development space needs to be studied. In fact, there are many countries that build elevated roads, but up to now, there are problems with space, so it is necessary to study carefully and sustainably.
3 railway projects are being promoted for implementation
Providing more information about the implementation of the North-South high-speed railway project and major railway routes, the Minister of Transport said that there are 3 railway projects being promoted, including: Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong; Lang Son - Hanoi; Mong Cai - Ha Long - Hai Phong.
The Ministry of Transport plans to propose operating standard gauge trains carrying both people and goods at a speed of about 200 km/h. Previously, 200 km/h was considered a high speed for standard gauge trains, but now it is normal.
For the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho route, the Ministry of Transport is preparing to complete the pre-feasibility report to submit to the Government and the National Assembly. The standard gauge railway project will have a speed of about 190km/h for passengers and about 120km/h for goods.
This project is 174km long with a total capital of more than 9 billion USD (about 220,000 billion VND), divided into 2 phases. Of which, phase 1 needs about 155,000 billion VND, exploiting both goods due to the huge demand for goods. The Minister said that if this railway line is built, it will only take 1 hour to go from Ho Chi Minh City to the West.
Source: https://vov.vn/chinh-tri/bo-truong-nguyen-van-thang-trien-khai-quyet-liet-nang-cap-nhieu-tuyen-cao-toc-post1131111.vov
Comment (0)