Construction work is being quickly implemented to meet the deadline. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Anh

HÀ NỘI — The project management boards and contractors are working day and night to complete the three sub-projects of the west part of the North-South expressway phase 2017-2020, including Mai Sơn-National Highway 45, Vĩnh Hảo-Phan Thiết and Phan Thiết-Dầu Giây, ahead of the upcoming holiday on April 30.

Racing against time

Lương Văn Long, the project's executive director (Thăng Long project management board), said that the Mai Sơn-National Highway 45 project has a total length of 63.37km crossing the provinces of Ninh Bình and Thanh Hóa.

So far, construction items such as road surfaces, tunnels, and overpass bridges have been almost completed.

"The Thăng Long project management board has requested contractors to maintain progress with three shifts and four teams and speed up the construction of remaining items such as road junctions, interchanges, and traffic safety warning systems," Long said. "By April 30, this expressway will be operational, and vehicles will travel from Hà Nội to the Đông Xuân expressway interchange, then onto National Highway 47 and finally National Highway 1A."

Phạm Quốc Huy, the executive director of the Vĩnh Hảo-Phan Thiết expressway project, said contractors are working on the final items such as signboards, guardrails and fences.

So far, the completion rate of bidding packages has reached over 83 per cent of the contract value, of which the main route has reached more than 94 per cent. The remaining major items include asphalt concrete pavement, road systems, horizontal roads, and traffic safety systems.

Asserting that the construction units are closely monitoring the progress day by day to open the main route for traffic, Huy stated that time is running out, and the Project Management Board 7 urgently requires contractors to concentrate all resources and ensure traffic opens on schedule on April 30.

Regarding the Phan Thiết-Dầu Giây expressway, according to the report of the Thăng Long Project Management Board, the cumulative construction output of the project has reached 91 per cent of its value.

The output of Package 1-XL reached 90.25 per cent, Package 2-XL reached 90.19 per cent, Package 3-XL reached 89.65 per cent, and Package 4-XL reached 92.91 per cent. The cumulative disbursed amount for construction reached 83.7 per cent of the contract value.

"The contractors are completing the remaining items such as rough asphalt concrete pavement, installation of median barriers, roadside barriers and traffic signs, road marking, local road crossings, temporary toll booths, and striving to open the road as planned on April 30 as directed by the Ministry of Transport," the representative of the Thăng Long Project Management Board added.

Establish detailed progress

Recognising the large remaining workload to put these three projects into operation according to plan, the leaders of the Ministry of Transport require contractors to mobilise maximum personnel, machinery and financial resources to ensure the plan for opening to traffic on April 30 and ensure absolute traffic safety when the project is ready for operation.

With little time left for construction, the project management boards must establish detailed progress according to the countdown chart. Contractors must make maximum efforts to complete the main route, especially the asphalt concrete pavement and traffic safety system.

Road markings, signs and traffic safety systems must be completed before April 25 for inspection and operation. After that, the bridge overpasses and community bridge overpasses must be urgently constructed to ensure the travel needs of the people.

It is particularly noted that the units must ensure the progress and closely monitor the work's quality. The leaders of the Ministry of Transport directed the project management board and the construction units to ensure that other vehicles do not enter the construction site, as it will affect safety issues during construction.

Regarding the investment in rest stops along these three highways, the Ministry of Transport has decided on the locations for construction and has issued instructions for bidding, creating a legal framework for investment in constructing a network of rest stops on the North-South expressway.

On the Mai Sơn-National Highway 45 section, a rest stop will be built in the province of Thanh Hoá; on the Vĩnh Hào-Phan Thiết highway, two rest stops will be built in the province of Bình Thuận; on the Phan Thiết-Dầu Giây highway, a rest stop will also be built in the province of Bình Thuận.

These stops will include amenities such as fuel stations, resting areas, dining options and bathrooms.

"After determining the location of the stops, project management teams will use budget funds to clear the land and then organise bidding to select investors," said a representative of the Ministry of Transport. — VNS