Minister requests repairs for damaged sections on National Highway No 1

HÀ NỘI — Transport Minister Nguyễn Văn Thể requested contractors to immediately repair the subsidence on National Highway No 1 or they would be held responsible.

The minister made the request after inspecting contractor’s repairs on the highway recently.

If the contractors are participating in other projects under the ministry, they shall be forced to stop implementing and concentrate on repairing roads. If the contractors fail to repair the damaged sections on National Highway 1 they shall be fined according to regulations or may be banned from participating in the bidding for national traffic projects, according to the minister.

He also asked road agencies to list damaged sections and solutions for the problems.

Subsidence has affected several sections of a part of National Highway No 1 that passes through central Hà Tĩnh Province, zing.vn e-newspaper reported.

Lê Ngọc Minh, director of Road Administration No 2 said that subsidence occurred mainly on sections overseen by Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No 4 (CIENCO 4).

The corporation assigned its units to repair the sections many times, but the subsidence reoccured, causing serious traffic disruption, Minh said.

According to Bùi Văn Rạng, deputy director of project management board No 2, it has requested Xuân Trường, a private company responsible for repairing the subsidence, to repair the damaged sections but the company has not yet done so.

The transport minister has also asked consultancy units, the Department of Construction Management and Transport Quality Control to propose optimal solutions, using materials to substitute with asphalt concrete to ensure the best quality after repair. Repairs must be made before the warranty expired, Thể said. — VNS