For anyone living along National Highway 14D in Da Nang's western mountains, the road has had one defining feature: big trucks hauling ore from Laos, and the mud, dust and broken asphalt they leave behind. As of Saturday, they're gone, at least for now.
From October 10, trucks with four or more axles are banned from Highway 14D until the road's upgrade is finished and reopened, according to a Department of Construction notice reported by VietnamPlus and Bao Da Nang. Smaller vehicles can still use the road. Under Notice 17941/TB-SXD, exemptions cover trucks carrying everyday essentials, rescue and relief vehicles, and trucks supplying the 14D project itself, a local boarding school and commune-level works. They must carry papers proving their purpose. Ore haulers are being told to find other routes or move their cargo onto standard trucks under 25 tonnes.
Why now
The road links the Ho Chi Minh Highway to the Nam Giang international border gate and serves Ben Giang, Nam Giang and La Dee communes. According to VietnamPlus, about 250 heavy-truck trips a day have been coming through the Nam Giang gate, many carrying ore. Rain turned the damaged surface into slick mud.
The upgrade, which broke ground in late June, costs more than 4,518 billion dong and is due in 2027. Its new base layer, 15 cm of crushed stone mixed with 4% cement, needs time to cure before it can carry weight. Nguyen Huu Hoa, a supervision chief at the project management board, told VietnamPlus the road was being rebuilt while still serving as a mining haul route, and that was directly slowing the work. The Department of Construction said daily traffic management by the investor hadn't been enough.
There's a safety argument too. Heavy trucks on mountain passes raise crash risk and can block emergency transport, including patient transfers. Residents of A Bat village in Nam Giang commune told VietnamPlus they support the ban, citing the dust, the mud and the danger.
The forest bill
The project isn't just asphalt. On October 6, the city People's Council approved converting 31.679 hectares of forest for the highway, 22.767 hectares of it natural forest and 8.912 hectares plantation forest, in Ben Giang, Nam Giang and La Dee, Thanh Nien reported. Council chairman Nguyen Duc Dung asked agencies to spell out the legal basis, boundaries, compensation, resettlement, replacement planting and environmental protection.
Losing nearly 23 hectares of natural forest on a mountain highway is a real trade-off for a better trade route. It's worth asking where the replacement trees go, and who checks.
What it means for you
If you drive 14D in a car or on a motorbike, expect construction zones but fewer trucks. If you're in the trucking or mining business, your route just got longer. Either way, the ban runs until the new road opens. The project's target is 2027.
Sources
- Đà Nẵng cấm xe tải từ 4 trục trở lên lưu thông trên Quốc lộ 14D từ ngày 10/10
- Đà Nẵng chuyển gần 32 ha rừng để làm dự án quốc lộ 14D hơn 4.500 tỉ
- Từ 10/10, Đà Nẵng cấm xe tải từ 4 trục trở lên lưu thông trên quốc lộ 14D
This story was compiled by the Da Nang Voice news desk from the published sources listed above. Facts, figures and quotes are attributed to those sources; Da Nang Voice did not conduct interviews for it unless the text says so. Corrections are dated and noted at the top of the story. Read our corrections policy. Spotted an error? Tell us.
