Several Roads In Central Hanoi Severely Deteriorated

HANOI, Vietnam – Several roads in central Hanoi have suffered severe subsidence and deterioration, with deep potholes and damaged drainage systems posing safety risks to commuters and affecting the Vietnamese capital's appearance. An inspection on Monday found extensive subsidence on Bo Tay Street along the Nhue River, between the Noi Bridge and the Lien Mac 2 Bridge.

One Missing After Fishing Boat Carrying 10 Capsizes Near Phu Quy Island

Several sections had sunk toward the river, with one stretch losing more than half of its road surface over hundreds of metres. Warning signs have been placed, but exposed utility poles and broken drainage covers create further hazards. Deep potholes measuring more than 25 centimetres below the road surface were also found along the route, threatening motorcyclists and pedestrians. In an area linking Tay Thang Long Street with Pham Van Nghi Street in Dong Ngac Ward, a deep pond sits next to the entrance to the People's Police Academy and the Hanoi University of Mining and Geology, marked only by bamboo stakes and a worn warning sign, with no ropes or barriers separating the road from the pond.

The access road is riddled with large potholes, increasing the risk of people falling into the water, and further along the route the road remained uneven and badly damaged. After heavy rain, standing water covered damaged sections, making the hazards difficult to see. In the same alley, a black, foul-smelling drainage ditch runs alongside the heavily damaged road, with local resident Tuy saying the area had once been a swamp that regularly flooded above knee level during heavy rain. Residents used to have to buy sand and fill the area to create a passage, said Tuy, who described the area as worse than rural roads despite being close to the city centre, adding that they hoped authorities would renovate the area and build a proper road, and that residents were willing to contribute money to build a temporary road.

Blast at Phu Tho Rental Room Leaves One Dead, Three Injured

Tuoi Tre also inspected a road adjacent to Pho Vien Street and part of a project connecting Hoang Quoc Viet Street with Nam Thang Long Industrial Park, discovering several road sections and sidewalks remain unfinished. The area was the site of a fatal accident on 17 September, when an 18-year-old student from the Hanoi University of Mining and Geology fell into an open drain and died after riding his motorbike through a flooded section. Pho Vien Street itself has been widened, but at its intersection with the unfinished project, access is currently limited to a narrow culvert crossing a drainage ditch, and when the area is flooded, commuters may have difficulty distinguishing the road from the ditch, creating a serious safety risk. Further along the construction route, Tuoi Tre found an uneven road surface covered with potholes and piles of garbage, with the project delayed for years and only about one kilometre of road built so far. Officials from Dong Ngac Ward said they are coordinating with the Hanoi Department of Construction to accelerate the stalled project and will install barriers around dangerous areas following orders from the ward's chairman.