Vantai24h – Date 01/04/2016 – Highway 8 is one of the national road routes for traffic in the country. This highway is divided into two secondary roads 8A and 8B, which are not only the provincial roads of Ha Tinh but also connect the border of Vietnam and Laos.
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Highway 8A is a part of Xuyen A Road (AH15) running through three countries including Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Highway 8A goes through Cau Trao International Border Gate to Laos with the length of 85 km. It runs to the west, starting from the intersection of National Highway 1A (Km 482) in Bac Hong Village, Hong Linh Town and passing Duc Tho District (Do Chai Bridge, Lac Thien and Ba Vien Intersection), then getting to Linh Cam Bridge and Huong Son District (Pho Chau Town, Ha Tan Bridge, Tay Son). The finishing point is at Cau Treo Border Gate (near the border of Vietnam and Laos). Highway 8A was constructed since Vietnam was a colony of the French government. At that time, Highway 8 ran from Hong Linh to Laos and intersected with Laos’ Highway North 13. According to many veteran drivers who used to drive on this route, the section from Kim Son to the border is quite steep with many high rock cliffs. Moreover, landslides often happen in this area, especially in rainy seasons. Therefore, it is very necessary for novice drivers to pay attention to this route by accumulating the knowledge of roads and driving skills to ensure the safety for their journeys. In addition, one road section running through Village 2, Diem Son Commune, Huong Son District (Ha Tinh) is still in the process of expansion and upgrade so the quality of roads has declined very much, causing many difficulties to commuters.
Highway 8B runs entirely in Nghe An Province with the total length of about 25 km. This route links Hong Linh Town to Nghi Xuan District. The quality of road going from Hong Linh to Nghi Xuan, and to Xuan Hai Port is good enough for heavy trucks to load and unload goods right at the port. In the middle of 2015, the construction of the passing bridge of Highway 8B- QL1A was completed. The usage of this bridge not only increases the transportation efficiency but also leads to a decline in congestion and traffic accidents which usually happen on the National Highway 1. The passing bridge 8B- QL1A is 575 meters long with four traffic lanes. The bridge’s main part crosses QL1A in the direction to the bridge of Ben Thuy 2- QL8B with four lanes and the average speed of 60 km/h. This is also the first of 5 constructions of the Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No.4, which has been chosen as the excellent construction to celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishing transportation sector.
The upgrade of old routes and the construction of many new ones has changed the appearance of Ha Tinh Province’ s landscapes and partly met the growing demands for transporting on Highway 8, 1A and 15A. This also will support business activities between provinces and stimulate the development of economy, society, security and defense in Ha Tinh Province and other areas of the country.
