A section of Đà Nẵng – Quảng Ngãi Expressway. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Tĩnh

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Transport has issued a document requesting Việt Nam Expressway Corporation (VEC) to inspect and take urgent measures to deal with subsidence found on the Đà Nẵng – Quảng Ngãi Expressway.

VEC was required to direct road management units to regularly monitor and check the subsidence on the surface of the road to ensure traffic safety and deal with violations in road exploitation.

The 139km highway in the central region crossing through Quảng Ngãi and Quảng Nam provinces and Đà Nẵng City kicked off in 2013 with total investment of VNĐ34.5 trillion (US$1.5 billion), sourced from official development aid from the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and the World Bank (WB).

The highway features six lanes, including two lanes for urgent works with a width of 256m. The road is designed for vehicles to run at speeds of up to 120kph.

The project is an important part of the north-south expressway. It is intended to alleviate traffic on the National Road No 1 and boost economic competitiveness for the central region.

The 65km Tam Kỳ-Quảng Ngãi section was opened to the public in August 2017.

But after 14 months of operation, potholes appeared on some sections of the road.

The Ministry of Transport has asked the investor to urgently deal with the problems. — VNS