Truck and bus drivers can only drive on many sections of national highways in Vietnam at just five kilometers an hour – the speed of a bicycle – thanks to deteriorating road conditions.

In other sections, some vehicles cannot even continue on after they are bogged down on muddy roads.

National Highway 14, which links the southern province of Binh Phuoc and the Central Highlands, is one such example. It currently takes eight hours to complete the 180km section from Gia Lai to Dak Lak Provinces. Normally, the trip should take four or five hours.

The 500km highway has deteriorated so badly that it can barely support vehicles. However, it is still in use.

Traffic congestion and accidents have become more common on it in recent years.

Terrible conditions

One day in April, the road was completely blocked for around ten hours after a heavy truck got bogged down on the muddy surface, according to the traffic police department of Gia Lai Province.

“Technical reasons” and “money” have been cited by road construction officials as excuses for the poor condition of the highway.

After it was blamed for delays in repair and construction of the road, the management board of the Ho Chi Minh Road, which includes National Highway 14, announced that, “Starting in early October, all road contractors must send their workers and machines to build it at any price.”

“All those who delay the job will be replaced,” it added.

The road was first found to be in poor condition in 2009, and the situation has only worsened since then.

In particular, the 180km section from Gia Lai to Dak Lak has become almost unusable over the last two years. The section has been marred by numerous potholes all over the road surface.

Nguyen Van Huan, deputy general director of the road management board, under the Ministry of Transport, admitted that National Highway 14 is now worse than ever, and has caused anger among travelers and locals.

A traffic sign that reads, “Works in Progress, Maximum Speed of 5kph” on National Highway 14. Photo: Tuoi Tre

“We’ve heard complaints everywhere, but we can’t push forward the progress of construction for many reasons,” he added.

However, authorities have failed to explain exactly what these reasons are when they address the issue to the public.

A local living by the road in Ea H’Leo Commune, of Ea H’Leo District in Dak Lak, said, “I have to spray water on the road surface ten times a day, but it’s not enough to prevent dust.

“We can’t do business because of the situation.”

Duc Long Gia Lai, the contractor that built the stretch of National Highway 14 from Gia Lai’s Pleiku City to Dak Lak, said about the delay, “We face troubles with money and technical documents. In addition, land clearance for the construction of the road has not finished.”

Although the road management board admitted that this task has not been completed, the organization told the media that it has imposed a deadline on the road contractor to finish construction by January 2016.

The Ministry of Transport assigned the board to finish constructing the road by October 2016.

Currently, only about 25 percent of construction on the road has been completed.

Locals block trucks

Poor road conditions are not exclusive to National Highway 14.

Scattered cases have been reported where locals decided to block trucks after roads in their areas became too dangerous due to dust, mud, and accidents.

Last month, local residents in Phuoc Tan Commune, Bien Hoa City, in the southern province of Dong Nai, barricaded Tan Cang Road with trees, tables, chairs, and signs.

Heavy trucks have damaged the road, causing more accidents in the area, according to local residents. Hundreds of trucks enter and leave the Tan Cang stone quarry every day, and they have turned the residential area into a stone mining site.

Similar incidents have recently taken place across many parts of the nation, including the central provinces of Binh Dinh and Nghe An, and the northern province of Ninh Binh.

National Highway 12B in Nho Quan District of Ninh Binh and National Highway 18 linking Bac Ninh Province – in the north – to Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi are also seriously damaged.

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