The entire route connecting Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway to Sa Pa is open to traffic

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Huy, Director of the Department of Transport and Construction of Lao Cai province, informed that from 2:00 p.m. on September 22, the road connecting Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway to Sa Pa was fully opened to traffic.

Vehicles traveling through this route will not be subject to time or load restrictions from the time it is opened.

From 2:00 p.m. on September 22, the Mong Sen road and bridge will allow vehicles to travel without any load or time restrictions. During the operation period, Lao Cai-Sa Pa BOT Investment Joint Stock Company will monitor the traffic to handle any arising issues, and complete other items to ensure operation and toll collection from October 15.

Before the entire route was opened to traffic, from August 22, Lao Cai-Sa Pa BOT Investment Joint Stock Company organized a trial operation of the Mong Sen bridge. The operating time during the trial period is from 6am to 5pm daily (restricted to vehicles with a load capacity of over 20 tons and container trucks).

Putting into operation the entire route connecting Noi Bai-Lao Cai ExpresswaySapaOn the occasion of the 120th anniversary of Sa Pa tourism, it will help vehicles travel conveniently, reduce traffic on National Highway 4D, and avoid traffic jams because the road is divided into one-way lanes from Sa Pa town to Lao Cai city.

The road from Lao Cai city to Sa Pa town is more than 30km long, following National Highway 4D, which will have to go through a winding three-tiered slope, which is prone to landslides. Putting the Mong Sen bridge and connecting road into trial operation will shorten the distance by about 2.5km compared to the old road and will not have to go through a three-tiered slope. This will help reduce the risk of traffic safety in the three-tiered pass area, especially during peak weekends or holidays and Tet.

Previously, the People's Committee of Lao Cai province issued a Decision approving the traffic organization plan at the Project to Build a Road Connecting Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway to Sa Pa town.

Specifically, for National Highway 4D from Lao Cai city to Sa Pa town, the traffic organization plan remains the same as the current status. Vehicles traveling from Lao Cai city to Sa Pa town and vice versa according to the opinion of the Ministry of Transport.

For Provincial Road 155, vehicles will travel one way, from Sa Pa to Lao Cai city. The starting point will be at km 12+050 Mong Sen bridge area (intersection with National Highway 4D at km 12+666) and the end point will be Lao Cai city at km 0.

The Project to Build a Road Connecting Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway to Sa Pa includes investment in the construction of a new Provincial Road 155 section from the intersection of Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway (at km 0+00 corresponding to km 135+940, National Highway 4D) to km 13+800, connecting with National Highway 4D at km 117+550 (including Mong Sen Bridge and access roads at both ends of the bridge) with a length of 13.8km.

The route connecting Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway to Sa Pa is invested on the basis of constructing a new Provincial Road 155 parallel to the existing National Highway 4D according to the standards of a class IV road. This is a class II traffic project, the Mong Sen bridge is a special project (the bridge piers are over 50m high, considered the viaduct with the highest piers in Vietnam).

The total investment of the project is 1,382 billion VND, of which the capital mobilized by the investor (equity, credit loan capital) is 803 billion VND; the State capital participating in the project is 579 billion VND (including the central budget capital of 500 billion VND; the local budget capital of 79 billion VND).

The completion and operation of the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway to Sa Pa project will help improve the efficiency of exploiting the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway to Sa Pa town and to the Northwestern provinces, thereby contributing to promoting the socio-economic development of Lao Cai province in particular and the Northwestern region in general.