Parts of the north-south axis project linking Hà Đông District to the southern districts of Hà Nội City have been found with subsidence and cracks have appeared on the overpass revealing layers of foam. — Photo tienphong.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Association of Bridge and Road Science and Technology has asked agencies to inspect the construction of a railway overpass under the north-south axis project in Hà Nội.

The move comes after layers of foam were found between concrete and sand under the road’s surface.

Nguyễn Ngọc Long, deputy chairman of the association, said the construction unit of the project was reckless, and the entire project must be reviewed carefully before it was put into operation.

Cienco5 Land Development Corporation has invested in the north-south axis project linking Hà Đông District to the southern districts of the city such as Thanh Oai, Ứng Hòa and Phú Xuyên, with total capital topping VNĐ6 trillion (US$266.6 million).

The project was implemented by the Build-Transfer (BT) method, which allows the investor to mobilise capital for the construction of the project and transfer it when the construction is completed. The city’s authority would refund the capital by collecting land use fees for urban projects.

The project was carried out to establish a new route to serve socio-economic development needs and ease overloading on National Highway 21B, which connects Hà Đông District and Tam Điệp City in the northern Ninh Bình Province. Although the project has not been completed, under the city’s decision, the overpass opened to the public before the last Tết holiday to meet the high travelling demand of trucks.

However, subsidence and cracks appeared on the overpass, revealing layers of foam with thickness of three to four centimetres between layers of sand and concrete on the road’s surface.

Lê Thanh Song, deputy general director of Cienco5 Land Development Corporation, said the construction of the railway overpass was primarily completed in 2012. A temporary lighting system was installed on the railroad overpass to serve traffic.

After finishing the construction of pavement on the overpass, the construction unit placed foam sheets to mark the positions where cables would be inserted for 24 lighting poles on the overpass.  

To date, the lighting system has not been completed and the foam sheets have not been removed.

In response to questions about the subsidence and cracks on the road surface, Song said the cracks were located in areas where construction was still ongoing.

The project was still under construction and had not been handed over to agencies, he said, adding that the construction unit has quickly completed the project.

Long, deputy chairman of the association, has asked the corporation to hire consultancy companies to re-examine the entire project, especially the road surface at the positions of lighting poles, and quickly solve the problem.

The corporation could ask for the support of agencies, if needed, Long said, adding that the project must be checked carefully before operations begin. — VNS