Expressway through Vietnam national park poised to open

The La Son - Tuy Loan Expressway through the Bach Ma National Park in central Vietnam will be completed by June.

Construction of the highway between Thua Thien-Hue Province and Da Nang City began in 2015, and it is getting its finishing touches.

It runs between the La Son Intersection in Loc Son Commune, Thua Thien-Hue and Tuy Loan village of in Da Nang’s Hoa Vang District. The 77-km four-lane expressway cost around VND11.5 trillion ($500.8 million) and was originally scheduled for completion in 2018. It was delayed due to land acquisition problems and unfavorable weather.

An overpass in a ravine in the Bach Ma National Park. The expressway has 36 overpasses.

The section in Nam Dong and Phu Loc Districts in Thua Thien-Hue is more or less completed.

Due to heavy rains, portions of an embankment at the Bach Ma National Park have been eroded. They will be repaired following the long Reunification Day and Labor Day holiday weekend.

Over 11 km of the expressway traverses through the national park requiring mountainous areas and trees to be bulldozed for the construction. The Bach Ma National Park, which spreads over more than 37,000 hectares and rises 1,450 meters above sea level at its highest point, was established in 1991. Rich in biodiversity, the park attracts trekkers who walk through forests, waterfalls and lakes.

A view of the Mui Trau Tunnel. It is expected to have its design and technical details assessed by the Fire and Rescue Police Department in June.

Signs have already been put up on the expressway, Nguyen Minh Khanh, deputy head of the HCMC Road Management Committee’s Project Management Division 4, the builder, said. If repairs to the expressway's eroded sections go without a hitch, the expressway could undergo trials in June, he added.