Faulty guardrails along the Hanoi-Lao Cai Highway pose a serious traffic safety threat, with at least one person killed, after hundreds of bolts were found to be missing on many sections of the route, but highway management denies any responsibility.
Missing screws at the guardrail on Ha Noi-Lao Cai Highway
DTiNews examined sections of guardrail on the A1, A2 and A3 sections and found hundreds of bolts to secure the railings were missing, with only one bolt holding the guardrail where nine should have been present, rendering them ineffective in the event of an accident.
The issue came to light on February 27, when a car crashed into a guardrail. A section broke loose and smashed through the windscreen, emerged through the back window, and killed an occupant.
A spokesman for the Hanoi-Lao Cai Highway management board told DTiNews the bolts were in place before the section was opened to traffic. But bolts have been found to be missing along many other sections.
The accident happened on the highway on February 27
The spokesman said the board was checking affected sections to determine how many bolts were missing and take action to fix the problem.
The Hanoi-Lao Cai Highway runs 265km through Hanoi and the provinces of Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Yen Bai and Lao Cai. It connects with China's Kunming-Hakou Highway.
The project was started in the third quarter of 2008 and finished in September 2014, with total investment of USD1.46bn, funded mainly from ADB loans.