Traffic mishap closes 38km stretch of expressway in northern Vietnam

The closure was announced by a representative of the Vietnam Expressway Operation and Maintenance Joint Stock Company on Thursday.

On Wednesday afternoon, a five-seat car and a fuel-carrying truck collided with each other on the bridge section near the Van Yen District of the northern province of Yen Bai. The truck broke the barricades on the road and fell down the bridge, before turning over and catching fire. Luckily, there were no human casualties.

It was later determined that the bridge was heavily damaged, with “little chance of being repaired.” The company said it would rebuild the bridge in one to two months.

The bridge was closed at 8 p.m. Wednesday night. The closed-down section of the expressway is 38 kilometers long within Yen Bai.

A company representative said traffic would be redirected to take a detour via 70 National Highway to join the expressway at a different intersection.

The $1.5-billion, 245-km Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway, which connects Hanoi with the rural northwest and shortened travel to the highlands resort town Sa Pa, opened to traffic in September 2014.