20 years of opening Hai Van Tunnel - the most modern road tunnel in Southeast Asia

Instead of spending nearly an hour "climbing up and downhill" on the 22km pass, now, drivers on the North-South route only take 10-15 minutes to "cross Hai Van Pass" on the tunnel section. more than 12km long.

Instead of spending nearly an hour "climbing up and downhill" on the 22km pass, now, drivers on the North-South route only take 10-15 minutes to "cross Hai Van Pass" on the tunnel section. more than 12km long.

Hai Van Tunnel Gate leads from Da Nang city to Hue. (Photo: Tran Le Lam/TTXVN)

On November 7, 2003, drillers from the North and South ends of the Hai Van Road Tunnel on National Highway 1A, officially met, after many months of urgent work.

The tunnel was started on August 27, 2000 and inaugurated on June 5, 2005.

Instead of spending nearly an hour "climbing up and downhill" the 22km pass without encountering any problems, now, drivers on the North-South route only take 10-15 minutes to "climb and fall down" the 22km pass. "over Hai Van Pass" on a tunnel section longer than 12km.

Hai Van Pass - "The most majestic landscape in the world"

Hai Van Pass is the natural boundary of Da Nang city and Thua Thien-Hue province.

According to history books, in 1470, King Le Thanh Tong personally led troops to fight Champa. When arriving at Hai Van Pass, impressed by the majestic landscape, the king was inspired to write poetry and call this place "The most majestic landscape in the world."

In the early 19th century, after unifying the country, the Nguyen Dynasty chose Hue as its capital, Hai Van became the gateway to the capital.

[Photo] Enjoy the majestic beauty of the road on Hai Van Pass

According to the book “Dai Nam Thuc Luc Chinh Bien,” during the reign of King Minh Mang, the road across the pass was built and paved; Especially in the year of the Dog 1826, a cluster of buildings was built at the top of the pass to form a solid military fortress called Hai Van Quan.

After occupying Central Vietnam, the Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, General De Courcy, ordered the immediate opening of a strategic road through Hai Van Pass to connect Hue with Da Nang, and at the same time be able to quickly mobilize troops to pacify Determine Quang Nam when needed.

The French Army Corps of Engineers has forced farmers in two provinces to build roads since 1886.

From 1902-1906, the French colonialists built a railway through Hai Van Pass, winding along the mountainside, passing through 6 tunnels and 18 bridges. That railway line still exists today.

Hai Van Road Tunnel - The longest and most modern road tunnel in Southeast Asia

The road through Hai Van Pass is nearly 21km long, experiencing traces of time and history plus complex terrain, so even if it is upgraded, repaired, or expanded, this is still a dangerous road for drivers. car.

The winding, winding roads following the mountainside, the sharp turns that continuously follow each other can knock down any "inattentive" car.

The winding, majestic curves of Hai Van Pass. (Photo: Van Dung/TTXVN)

Especially during the rainy and stormy season, rockslides often occur, causing many traffic accidents and serious damage to people and property.

To contribute to solving the problem of traffic safety as well as keeping up with the requirements of integration and economic development, the Party and State have determined to implement a tunnel through the mountains.

Feasibility studies for the tunnel construction project have been carried out since 1996, and in early 1998 the Prime Minister officially approved construction investment with a total investment capital of more than 250 million USD from private sources. loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and a reciprocal part from the State.

The entire Hai Van Road Tunnel project has a length of 12,047km, is designed to be permanent, and has a design speed of 80km/h. Of which, the main tunnel is 6,280m long, 10m wide for 2 lanes, and the height allowed for vehicles to pass is 7.5m; The rescue tunnel runs parallel to the main tunnel and has the same length and width of 4.7m, connected by horizontal tunnels, serving as an escape route for people and vehicles when an incident occurs.

This is the longest and most modern road tunnel in Southeast Asia and one of the 30 longest tunnels in the world.

The Hai Van Pass road tunnel is a comprehensive transportation project including: roads, tunnels, bridges and operating equipment passing through Thua Thien-Hue province in the north and Da Nang city in the south of the tunnel.

The tunnel is made in a circular shape to increase bearing capacity and avoid stress concentration at the corners. According to statistics, on average every day and night, there are about 6,500 vehicles passing through Hai Van tunnel; During holidays and New Year, that number sometimes doubles.

Hai Van Tunnel leads from Da Nang city to Hue. (Photo: Tran Le Lam/TTXVN)

The opening of the Hai Van road tunnel project has fundamentally improved traffic conditions on the dangerous pass, shortened the North-South journey, reduced fuel consumption, and vehicle damage, especially contributes to limiting unpredictable losses due to traffic congestion and accidents that occur every year on pass roads, bringing great socio-economic benefits.

Hai Van road tunnel is a vivid testament to the industrialization and modernization of the transportation industry.

In addition to its significance in the socio-economic development of Da Nang city and Thua Thien-Hue province, the Hai Van tunnel project also contributes to improving the transport infrastructure of the East-West economic corridor, contributing to bringing the Central and Central Highlands region of Vietnam closer to Southeast Asia as well as international integration.

Hai Van Pass - From a North-South natural mission to a National Tourist Destination

Returning to the pass routes, after ending the North-South natural mission, Hai Van Pass has become a destination attracting many tours.

Reaching an altitude of nearly 500m above sea level, after a long journey over the pass, appearing before the visitors' eyes is a vast sky and land, with Hai Van Quan - the boundary point between two provinces and two regions.

Hai Van Quan National Historical Site with 2 arched gates is located at the top of Hai Van Pass. (Photo: Tran Le Lam/TTXVN)

Hai Van Quan was built during the Tran dynasty and has its present appearance thanks to restoration during the Nguyen dynasty (the 7th year of Minh Mang - 1826).

Hai Van Quan is located on the watershed of the Bach Ma mountain range, which is also the boundary between Thua Thien-Hue province and Da Nang city today.

Hai Van Quan is built in the shape of an arched gate. The door toward Thua Thien-Hue has a stone sign engraved with the words "Hai Van Quan," while the door toward Da Nang has a sign engraved with the words "The most majestic place in the world."

Hai Van Quan during the Nguyen Dynasty was a complex of many items, functioning as a gate, fortress, and an important defense line south of the Hue Capital.

The image of Hai Van Quan was also engraved on the Du Dinh in the set of Nine Peaks cast in 1837, during the reign of King Minh Mang of the Nguyen Dynasty.

During the war to invade Vietnam in the 20th century, the French colonialists and then the American imperialists turned this place into an important strategic key and built many other military items.

Along with that, there were many major battles that caused Hai Van Quan architecture to be deformed from its original appearance. After the war, this monument was degraded due to lack of proper care and preservation.

It was not until 2017 that Hai Van Quan was ranked as a National Historical and Architectural Artistic Monument.

To best exploit the tourism potential here, in early 2013, the People's Committee of Da Nang city decided to recognize Hai Van Pass as a local tourist destination of Da Nang city.

Next, the city also plans to build Hai Van Pass into a National Tourist Destination./.

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Update day : 07/11/2023