10 years on, Mekong Delta expressway overload poses safety hazard

The 62-km expressway costing VND10 trillion ($431.5 million) opened to traffic in 2010, cut travel time between HCMC and Mekong Delta provinces. After 10 years, it has been seriously downgraded with local authorities blaming the increasing volume of vehicles traveling along the route for its deterioration.
Repair work on some damaged sections of the expressway is expected to start later this month, taking around three months to complete at a cost of VND22 billion ($948,000).

The section passing through Than Cuu Nghia Commune in Chau Thanh District of Tien Giang Province has experienced significant cracking and damage to its surface. As planned, the construction unit would mend damaged sections as well as repair drainage systems at night to avoid affecting daytime traffic flow.

Protrusions about four meters higher than the expressway surface are seen along the section bisecting Tam Hiep Commune in Tien Giang, forming obstacles for drivers.

A barrier separating the expressway from a secondary road near a toll station in Tien Giang is also badly damaged.

A road barrier near a rest stop in Thu Thua District of Long An Province is deformed due to collision.

A ripped fence, designed to keep pedestrians, vehicles, and animals, from accessing HCMC – Trung Luong Expressway.
Last year, 158 traffic accidents have occurred along the route, killing nine and injuring 14. Police also recorded more than 240 incidents in which motorbikes encroached onto the expressway, which is open only for automobiles.

A man sneaks through the fence to access the expressway and gather plastic water bottles discarded by drivers and passengers. Nearby residents often cut through the barrier to collect grass from the corridor or catch a bus regardless of safety concerns.

A sewer seerving a section through My Yen Commune in Long An Province is blocked with garbage. High-speed corridors in this area have been transformed into various business services, including car repair shops (pictured).

Corridors in Long An Province are used to raise ducks, cows or grow vegetables.

The expressway has two main toll stations, one at the beginning in HCMC’s Binh Chanh District and the other at its end in Tien Giang Province’s Chau Thanh District. Starting January 1, 2019, HCMC-Trung Luong Expressway temporarily suspended toll fees.
According to official data, the number of vehicles travelling along the expressway increased 31 percent after that, often hitting over 51,000 a day.