Modern underpass under water

Another classic story here. Just 1 hour after opening what was dubbed Vietnam’s most modern underpass, it filled with water due to rains, causing cars and motorbikes to stall and creating a major traffic jam.

Vietnam’s most modern underpass closed after flood

Hanoi City government on Tuesday closed Kim Lien-Dai Co Viet underpass after the most modern underpass in Vietnam was flooded only two hours after inauguration.

The investor, Major Projects Management Unit for Urban Development of Hanoi, had workers pump water out of the work. They blamed uncompleted main pumping system as the culprit behind the flood on Tuesday morning.

The underpass was built to ease regular traffic jams at Kim Lien-Dai Co Viet intersection. However, local residents were suspicious about effects of the work after the problem.

The underpass was reopened one hour later but people still avoided traveling through it. As a result, traffic at the intersection turned congested on Tuesday.

Hmmm... So what was the cause of these floods in this MODERN and HIGH TECH tunnel?

Rains flood new Ha Noi tunnel on first day

The Kim Lien underpass in Hanoi was flooded under almost 40 cm of water following heavy rains just two hours after it opened to traffic on June 16.
the Kim Lien underpass is flooded 30-40 cm by a heavy rain on June 16.

It was closed for an hour to pump out the water, and Ngo Quy Tuan, deputy director of Ha Noi’s key projects management board, told Sai Gon Giai Phong it happened because of a contractor’s delay in installing the main pumping system.

It would be completed in October, he said, explaining the tunnel has been opened to traffic even though the overall work is only partially complete just to ease traffic pressure.

In the event, the flooding did not come as a surprise, he said.

But he told SGGP that he has asked the contractor to complete the main drainage by June before the onset of the rains.

Once the major pumping system is in place, the underpass would not be flooded again even in heavy rains, he assured.

The tunnel connects Dai Co Viet and Dao Duy Anh and was built by Japan’s Taisei Corporation for the Japan Bridge and Structure Institute at a cost of VND467 billion (US$26 million)...

So the Tunnel REALLY should be completed in October but the opening date was rushed "to ease traffic pressure."

Perhaps (I will go out on a limb here) it is NOT a good idea to rush major infrastructure projects to meet artificial deadlines, especially when safety may be at risk.

But does anyone learn from these lessons?

Bridge contractors face fines if deadline not met, official warns

Stay tuned...