On May 19th, the entire North-South Expressway project in the eastern part of Dak Lak province, phase 2021-2025, with a total length of over 90 km, was officially opened to traffic after the two component projects, the Quy Nhon - Chi Thanh section and the Chi Thanh - Van Phong section, were completed and the final kilometers were opened to traffic.

Accordingly, Project Management Board 7 (Ministry of Construction), the investor of the Chi Thanh – Van Phong section of the expressway project, and Project Management Board 85 (Ministry of Construction), the investor of the Quy Nhon – Chi Thanh section of the expressway project, have simultaneously put into official operation the remaining 32 km of the expressway after having put into operation 58 km on April 30th.

Authorities in Dak Lak province have inspected safety conditions and basically approved the project for operation after addressing some minor issues related to traffic safety systems to complete legal procedures and ensure that the project is ready for operation.

Although the entire route is open to traffic, toll collection has not yet been implemented in two sections of the North-South Expressway project passing through the eastern part of Dak Lak province. This is because contractors are still constructing and installing toll booths at the interchanges. After completion, toll collection will be implemented using electronic toll collection (ETC) with multi-lane free entry (without barriers) and single-lane exit (with barriers).

The project investors have also submitted a written request to the People's Committee of Dak Lak province for assistance in providing information to the public to ensure convenient and safe traffic flow; at the same time, they have requested relevant agencies to provide support by deploying forces to coordinate in handling situations affecting traffic safety during the exploitation process.

During the construction phase, the contractors continued to complete the remaining items of the project, including: traffic tunnels; sensor, telecommunications, control, automatic toll collection, and load inspection systems; addressing and rectifying landslide issues; and carrying out project warranty work.

Thus, the two component projects of the Chi Thanh – Van Phong and Quy Nhon – Chi Thanh expressways have been completed and opened to traffic along their entire length, contributing to reducing travel time for vehicles and promoting local socio-economic development.

Previously, on April 30th, some sections of the North-South East Highway project in Dak Lak province were opened to traffic. Some remaining sections were not yet completed due to land acquisition issues requiring safe handling. Following this, the construction units made efforts to complete the project as soon as possible.

Text and photos: Tuong Quan (VNA)