In the past 4 years along a stretch Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong expressway in the Mekong province of Ten Giang, many residents have been using a drainage tunnel under the highway as a shortcut.
Needless to say, this could get a little dicey in rainy season when flooding occurs, so provincial authorities have decided to build an access road along the right side of the highway to alleviate this problem, according to a recent article on Tuoi Tre.
“There were days when we had to travel inside the pipe while it was submerged with water that rose up to our knees. We know such travel is dangerous, but we have no other way,” Do Van Mai, another local, complained.
The tunnel at 1.5 meters in diameter and 20 meters long is big enough for only one motorbike to pass through at a time, making for a less than ideal situation when 2 people are traveling in opposite directions.
The paved road, slated to be 3.5 km long and 3 meters wide, will give residents a safer route for their commutes, Deputy director of the provincial Transport Department, Tran Van Bon, said on Wednesday.
Can’t knock the ingenuity when it comes to commuting shortcuts. No road, no problem, right?
[Tuoi Tre]
