La Son - Tuy Loan Expressway running through Nam Dong district is about to be put into operation
Connecting the city to the sea
After many years of waiting, at the end of 2021, the construction of the western road of Tam Giang - Cau Hai Lagoon, which coincides with the Provincial Road 10A (PR10A) officially began. This road is more than 12km long and 7m wide, with the starting point intersecting with Thuy Duong - Thuan An Road (Hue City) and the ending point intersecting with PR10B (Phu Vang).
The implementation cost of this route is more than 105 billion VND, of which the construction capital is over 70 billion VND. It is constructed by Thua Thien Hue Construction and Road Management Joint Stock Company - Thua Thien Hue Traffic Construction Joint Stock Company and expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
On the first day of inaugurating of the route, the people in the area were excited because their wishes of more than a decade ago – a trading lifeline from Hue City to the eastern area through Phu Vang district to remove the "bottleneck" connecting to the "boulevard" Thuy Phu - Vinh Thanh through Truong Ha bridge to link the communes across the Tam Giang Lagoon – have now become true.
When the construction of Tam Giang - Cau Hai Lagoon Road began, Mr. Huynh Van Duc, Head of Economic Infrastructure Department of Phu Vang district could not hide his joy: "Only two more years, it will help create a new face for the inter-region, allowing a breakthrough in the socio-economic (SO) situation of Phu Vang and making goods transportation in and out of Phu Da Industrial Zone (IZ) more convenient.
Connecting to the starting point of the western road of Tam Giang - Cau Hai Lagoon is the intersection with the Phu My - Thuan An route, which is more than 4.2km long and 36m wide. The construction of this route was started in 2018 with the cost of more than 345 billion VND and is currently in the sprint stage. According to the provincial leaders, when this route is completed, the two sides will create an “advantageous” land fund to form new residential areas, tourist, and service centers to bring the city closer to the sea.
The starting point of Phu My - Thuan An route will also connect Vo Van Kiet Road, which is 4km backwards from PR28A. Soon, the route will connect to Ring Road No. 3 in the west of Hue City, which is more than 8.3km long and 43m wide and has its starting point intersecting PR8B, whose construction will soon begin in 2022 with medium-term capital for the 2021-2025 period.
When completed, the routes will create a continuous lifeline, contributing to preventing congestion and reducing the traffic flow through the center of Hue City and allowing the two sides to plan and rearrange residential areas, accelerate urbanization, create a driving force to promote socio-economic development, and improve the inter-regional local people's life from Huong Tra through Huong Thuy towns towards the sea.
This route is also important for expanding and reducing the load on National Highway (NH) 1A as well as enhancing connectivity with Phu Bai Airport and Phu Bai Industrial Parks (Huong Thuy), especially when the extension project of To Huu route (Hue City) by 8km to connect to Phu Bai Airport, which has just been adjusted by the Provincial People's Committee with a capital of 450 billion VND with the local budget, is about to begin.
Breakthrough in inter-regional development
Besides the well-formed highways, along with the National Highway 49B connecting Hue City to the west of A Luoi mountainous area; La Son - Nam Dong as well as many road traffic routes running along the horizontal and vertical axis connecting the center of Hue City to its vicinity, the locals were very happy when the 48km-long National Highway 49B from Thuan An (Phu Vang) to Vinh Hien through Tu Hien bridge, which connects to the National Highway 1A (Phu Loc), with the investment of more than 761 billion VND, is now basically completed.
This road is helpful in sharing traffic flow on National Highway 1A as well as shortening the distance from Hue City to remote areas and vice versa.
The construction of the ending point of Vo Van Kiet Road connecting Provincial Road 28A to the intersection between two routes Phu My - Thuan An and the western route of Tam Giang - Cau Hai lagoon has just begun
At the northern gateway of the province, the 16.5km-long Phong Dien - Dien Loc route has the starting point connecting to National Highway 1A through Phong Dien town, and the ending point to Dien Loc beach (Phong Dien), with the total investment of more than VND 671 billion. Although some sections at the ending point are currently incomplete due to problems in land clearance, the completed sections through Phong Dien and Phong Chuong towns have created a new appearance in terms of infrastructure for localities, connecting Phong Dien IZ, Dong Lam Cement Factory, etc.
When this route is put into use, it will share the traffic flow on PR6 through the center of Phong Dien town, significantly shortening the traveling distance to Ngu Dien (Phong Dien) communes since there is no need to take the My Chanh (Quang Tri) detour, as well as creating favorable conditions for rescue work. This route also creates the impetus to plan the construction of Dien Loc dedicated seaport (Phong Dien) in the next few years.
Currently, the province also allows the construction of a coastal road from Phong Dien to Phu Loc with a length of nearly 127km, of which some sections coincide with the National Highway 49B. The length of the whole route is 85km, and the road is 26-36m wide, with the estimated cost being VND 6,480 billion. On the route, there is a construction of 1.5km-long Thuan An sea-crossing bridge (connecting Hai Duong commune with Thuan An town), with a cost of 1,200 billion VND, which is assessed by the Ministry of Transport to be suitable for coastal road planning of the Central Region.
This route is considered a "super project", a convenient "golden road" with a local transport network, connecting central coastal provinces and cities, allowing the socio-economic situation and sea tourism of Thua Thien Hue to "take off" higher, etc.
According to Mr. Le Anh Tuan, Director of the Department of Transport, before the new development requirements, the traffic picture is specifically planned for provincial roads, district roads and major roads that will be connected continuously from now to 2030 based on Decision No. 1174 of the Provincial People's Committee approved from 2015. At the same time, there are appropriate adjustments under Resolution No. 54 of the Politburo; as well as the quadruple area expansion of Hue City as compared to the past time.
It is expected that the total investment capital for traffic in the 2021-2030 period is about VND 46,996 billion. The well-received specific mechanism to soon turn Thua Thien Hue into a centrally-managed municipality by 2025 approved by the Government opens up an opportunity for the locality to provide good mechanisms and policies to create a driving force for comprehensive developments in all fields, in which resources will be well mobilized for the construction of new roads, etc.
Story and photos: Minh Van