The new Lo Dieu Pass section in Hoai Nhon Dong Ward, Gia Lai province, opened to traffic on October 15 after its traffic-safety works were completed. Tô Tấn Thi, director of the province's Agriculture and Rural Development Project Management Board, said this on October 17.
Thi said the section had been scheduled to open in late August. Ordering and installing rotating guardrails, along with completing other traffic-safety items, took longer than expected.
The new section is 4.5km long and has a total investment of VND204 billion. Its asphalt road is 12 metres wide, with a design speed of 40km/h. Slope reinforcement, lighting and drainage systems have been completed to improve safety for people and vehicles.
The former Lo Dieu Pass was about 3km long, with a 6.5-metre-wide road. Some sections had gradients of about 10%, many sharp bends, limited visibility and no street lighting. The difficult terrain made travel through the pass challenging.
The new route follows the coast. It has a wider road and a lower gradient, making travel easier for local residents. The pass also runs between the mountains and the sea along the coastal area.
Lo Dieu Pass is part of the DT 639 coastal road project on the My Thanh–Lai Giang section. The section is more than 38km long and has a total investment of about VND1.3 trillion. Construction began in May 2024, with Gia Lai's Agriculture and Rural Development Project Management Board as the project investor.
The Gia Lai coastal road will be more than 115km long. It consists of eight component projects with a combined length of about 99km, while roughly 16km overlaps National Highway 1D. Once completed, the road is expected to improve transport links and goods movement and support tourism, urban development and the province's marine economy.
Sources: Dân Trí
