Lanes were buried, medians shifted, and traffic on the key route connecting Hue City to Da Nang City was congested, at times brought to a near standstill.
The La Son – Hoa Lien Expressway, linking Hue and Da Nang, was launched at the end of 2013. By April 2022, the first phase of the project—a 66-kilometer, 12-meter-wide stretch from La Son to Hoa Lien—was completed and opened to traffic.
Recent floods have once again unleashed torrents of earth and debris down the hillsides, burying lanes and displacing road dividers. The heaviest damage occurred at Km14, where an estimated 5,000 cubic meters of mud covered the carriageway, 1,000 to 1,500 cubic meters of rocks and soil were deposited, and more than 1,000 cubic meters of the roadside slope eroded.
Complex terrain and prolonged heavy rainfall have severely complicated repair operations, leaving the highway vulnerable to further landslides. Additional landslide-prone areas include Km11 (beneath Provincial Road 14) and Km13+400 (Khe Tre Interchange), where unstable slopes threaten both vehicles and ongoing construction equipment.
At Km12+600, under H6 Bridge, approximately 15,000 cubic meters of soil and rock slid downhill, though the construction team has yet to fully clear it. These incidents mainly affect Provincial Roads 14 and 14B and feeder roads connecting to the expressway, without interrupting traffic on the main thoroughfare.
Following a field inspection by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on October 31, a government delegation—including ministry officials and experts—assessed cracks on the road surface spanning approximately 80 meters in length and 5–10 meters in width at Km50+700 and Km50+800.
Mr. Bui Tuan Hung, Deputy Director of the Project Management Department 5 under the Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board (the project’s investor representative), stated that after extensive efforts by construction teams and authorities, previously cut-off sections have been largely reopened, and vehicles are now moving normally.
National Highways 1A, 49A, and the Cam Lo – La Son Expressway passing through Hue have been fully cleared. Some secondary routes remain flooded or congested, and authorities continue to coordinate repair and traffic management.
