Can Tho - Ca Mau Expressway: approaching opening day

The Can Tho – Ca Mau Expressway, spanning nearly 111 km, has reached over 90% completion after nearly three years of construction and is in its final phase for a scheduled opening on 19/12.

The entire project mobilizes 1,150 machines and 2,100 workers. Contractors are implementing three shifts and 4 crews to ensure completion on schedule, with the road opening on 19/12.

The Can Tho - Ca Mau Expressway project, approximately 111 km long with a 17 m cross-section, traverses Can Tho City and the provinces of Hau Giang, Bac Lieu, and Ca Mau. This significant infrastructure project, with a total investment exceeding 27,500 billion VND, is managed by the My Thuan Project Management Board, under the Ministry of Construction. Once operational, this route will complete the North-South Expressway axis, extending from Cao Bang to Ca Mau, greatly enhancing regional connectivity.

Construction efforts are intensifying across the project. The expressway's starting point, located at the IC2 interchange connecting National Highway 91 - Nam Song Hau in Hung Phu Ward, Can Tho City, is currently undergoing asphalt paving in early December.

The My Thuan Project Management Board reported that as of 6/12, overall project output reached over 90%. Contractors are focusing equipment and personnel on completing the road surface and traffic safety system.

Route of the Can Tho - Ca Mau Expressway. *Graphics: Hoang Chuong*

Truong Son Corporation, a key contractor, is responsible for constructing 20 km of the expressway and 20 bridges on the main route. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Vinh, Deputy Director of Truong Son Nam Board, reported that the work under their purview is approximately 97% complete, with all asphalt concrete paving finished. He added that the remaining items, which include the traffic safety system and access roads at interchanges, are on track for completion before 12/12.

Workers are actively painting road markings on the Can Tho - Ca Mau Expressway section that passes through Vi Thuy commune, Can Tho City. Concurrently, another team is installing the traffic safety barrier system along the route to ensure driver safety.

For immediate use, the entire route will feature emergency stopping lanes in both directions. Each stop will be up to three m wide and 170 m long, with an emergency stop available approximately every 5 km along the expressway.

On several sections of the route, contractors have already completed the installation of essential signs and guideposts.

Urgent construction is underway at the IC5 interchange, which links the Can Tho - Ca Mau Expressway and National Highway 61 in Vi Thuy commune, Can Tho City. The main route at this interchange has been paved, and crews are finalizing the traffic safety components and the branch routes. This interchange is crucial for connecting localities in the Western Hau River region along National Highways 61 and 61C, including Vi Thanh City, Vi Thuy District, Long My District, Long My Town (formerly Hau Giang province), and Go Quao District, Giong Rieng District (formerly Kien Giang province), with the Mien Tay's (Mekong Delta) longest longitudinal expressway.

Construction machinery is also busy at the IC4 interchange in Dai Thanh commune, Can Tho City, which serves as the second connection point between the Can Tho - Ca Mau Expressway and National Highway 61. On 4/12, contractors were completing crushed stone compaction and asphalt paving to meet the opening deadline within the next two weeks.

"To ensure progress, when the weather is favorable, a team of 52 people works through the night in three shifts," stated engineer Nguyen Van Trung, the paving commander at the construction site. He added that his unit has completed paving 20 km, with only about two km remaining on the IC5 interchange branch route, which is currently being finalized.