This morning, April 22, the provincial National Assembly Delegation worked with the Vietnam Road Administration to listen to and give opinions on the report on receiving and explaining the traffic diversion plan on the Cam Lo - La Son Expressway. Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, National Assembly Delegate Ha Sy Dong; Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Nguyen Chien Thang; Director of the Vietnam Road Administration Nguyen Xuan Cuong attended the meeting.

Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ha Sy Dong suggested that the Vietnam Road Administration should absorb local opinions to ensure efficiency in traffic organization - Photo: Le Truong

Traffic flow control facility on Cam Lo - La Son highway

At the meeting, representatives of the Vietnam Road Administration reported on the traffic situation on national highways and expressways passing through Quang Tri and some contents on receiving and implementing recommendations of the National Assembly Delegation and the People's Committee of Quang Tri province.

In which, the basis for traffic flow on the route is based on counting and analyzing the types of vehicles circulating on Cam Lo - La Son reaching 9,989 PCU (conversion coefficient of vehicles of all types to cars) compared to the calculated traffic capacity for a 2-lane road without a median strip of 9,200-11,000 PCU, so the expressway has reached the overload threshold.

On the other hand, according to vehicle count data on National Highway 1 through Quang Tri province, the number of PCUs reached 26,852 compared to the calculated traffic capacity for a 4-lane highway with a median strip of 31,000 - 33,500 PCUs, with about 6,000 PCUs remaining to reach the overload threshold.

Therefore, it is appropriate to regulate traffic flow from Cam Lo - La Son expressway to other routes such as National Highway 1, Ho Chi Minh road branch West and some other routes, ensuring that the traffic volume on the route is not overloaded.

According to Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Director of the Vietnam Road Administration, the disadvantage of operating the Cam Lo - La Son expressway is the difficulty in capital sources, so the project has to be divided into investment phases, leading to limited infrastructure. Meanwhile, the expressway has not yet collected tolls, but has attracted a large number of vehicles to travel through it. The operating conditions of the Cam Lo - La Son expressway are greatly affected by the weather, such as rain and fog, leading to slippery conditions for vehicles, especially heavy trucks, which can easily cause accidents; there are currently no rest stops or speed change lanes on the route...

Director of the Vietnam Road Administration Nguyen Xuan Cuong affirmed that, in the short term, the current traffic diversion is considered the most optimal solution - Photo: Le Truong

Therefore, while waiting for capital allocation to invest in expanding the Cam Lo - La Son expressway to 4 lanes, based on the analysis and service capacity of National Highway 1, it is reasonable to regulate and re-divided traffic on the route by prohibiting passenger vans with more than 30 seats, sleeper buses, and vehicles with 6 axles or more (including monocoques and tractor-trailer combinations) from circulating as they are now.

People's safety must be put first.

Speaking at the meeting, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ha Sy Dong said that after the traffic diversion on the Cam Lo - La Son expressway took effect banning large vehicles from April 4, the traffic volume on National Highway 1 through the province has increased.

This has caused many serious traffic accidents, causing public outrage and making it difficult for local management and traffic safety to be ensured. Regarding the traffic diversion facilities on the Cam Lo - La Son expressway proposed by the Vietnam Road Administration, the locality completely agrees.

Working session scene - Photo: Le Truong

However, for the actual and specific conditions of Quang Tri, it is recommended that the Vietnam Road Administration review from many perspectives, absorb opinions from the industry and localities to ensure effectiveness in traffic organization and must put the safety of the people first.

At the same time, in the coming time, it is recommended that the Vietnam Road Administration continue to pay attention to recommending the Ministry of Transport to soon allocate capital to implement investment in expanding the Cam Lo - La Son Expressway. In the immediate future, the Vietnam Road Administration needs to review, inspect, overcome and supplement conditions to ensure traffic safety on National Highway 1 to create peace of mind and trust for the people.

Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Nguyen Chien Thang speaks at the meeting - Photo: Le Truong

Nguyen Chien Thang, Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, said that after the Vietnam Road Administration decided to divert heavy vehicles from the Cam Lo - La Son Expressway, these vehicles were forced to go to National Highway 1 through Quang Tri Province. This made local people very unhappy.

Because, at present, Quang Tri province does not have a route to avoid the city, while National Highway 1 passing through the area has many intersections; the volume of personal vehicles and population density in the area is large, posing many potential risks of traffic accidents. In fact, many serious accidents have occurred, especially since the decision to separate traffic on the highway was made on April 4.

Need to review traffic diversion plan on Cam Lo - La Son highway

According to the Head of the Provincial Traffic Police Department, Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Van Trung, reality has proven that the basis for traffic flow regulation of the Vietnam Road Administration is not comprehensive in terms of political, practical and scientific basis. This is a "coercive" traffic flow measure while local opinions have not been truly accepted and listened to.

Therefore, it is recommended to reconsider this traffic diversion plan. It is possible to reverse the plan by prohibiting small vehicles from traveling on the Cam Lo - La Son expressway to travel on National Highway 1, which would be suitable for organizing mixed-lane traffic; or to divide and regulate traffic for large vehicles traveling according to time frames on the expressway...

Head of the Traffic Police Department, Provincial Police, Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Van Trung proposed to reverse the traffic diversion plan on the Cam Lo - La Son expressway - Photo: Le Truong

Responding to comments, Director of the Vietnam Road Administration Nguyen Xuan Cuong affirmed that because the Cam Lo - La Son expressway has just been invested in a 2-lane phase, the current traffic operation and organization plan is not really guaranteed. In the short term, the current traffic flow division is considered the most optimal solution, but in the long term, the agency continues to propose to soon invest in expanding the project to a complete 4-lane. Based on local opinions, the agency will absorb and study to propose more reasonable adjustment solutions in the near future.

Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ha Sy Dong emphasized that the province agrees with the investment plan to expand the Cam Lo - La Son expressway to 4 complete lanes. The locality will ensure to actively coordinate in site clearance to speed up the project's progress. In the immediate future, the province will direct the functional forces to increase patrols and control of vehicles to ensure traffic safety.

Le Truong