Chương III Luật Giao thông đường bộ 2008: Kết cấu hạ tầng giao thông đường bộ

Chapter III.

ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES

Article 39. Road classification

1. The road network consists of six systems, including national highways, provincial roads, district roads, communal roads, urban roads and special-use roads, which are prescribed as follows:

a/ National highways are roads connecting Hanoi capital with provincial-level administrative centers; roads connecting provincial-level administrative centers of three or more localities; road connecting an international seaport or airport to international border gates or major border gates; roads especially important to local or regional socio-economic development;

b/ Provincial roads are roads connecting provincial-level administrative centers with administrative centers of districts or adjacent provinces; roads important to provincial socio-­economic development;

c/ District roads are roads connecting administrative centers of districts with administrative centers of communes, commune clusters or adjacent districts; roads important to district socio-economic development;

d/ Commune roads are roads connecting administrative centers of communes with villages and hamlets or equivalent units or connecting adjacent communes; roads important to commune socio-economic development;

e/ Urban roads are roads within the administrative boundaries of inner cities;

f/ Special-use roads are roads exclusively used for the transportation and travel of one or more than one agency, organization or individual.

2. The competence to classify and adjust road systems is prescribed below:

a/ The Minister of Transport shall decide on the national highway system;

b/ Provincial-level People’s Committee presidents shall decide on systems of provincial roads and urban roads after reaching agreement with the Ministry of Transport (for provincial roads) or the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Construction (for urban roads);

c/ District-level People’s Committee presidents shall decide on systems of district roads and commune roads after obtaining the approval of provincial-level People’s Committee presidents;

d/ Agencies, organizations and individuals with special-use roads shall decide on systems of special-use roads after obtaining written consent of the Minister of Transport, for special-use roads linking with national highways; written consent of provincial-level People’s Committee presidents, for special-use roads linking with provincial roads, urban roads or district roads; or written consent of district-level People’s Committee presidents, for special-use roads linking with commune roads.

Article 40. Naming and numbering of roads

1. Roads shall be named or numbered as follows:

a/ Roads may be named after well-known persons, persons with merits to the country or historical or cultural relics or events and place names or by naming practice; roads may be numbered using natural numbers added with a letter, when necessary; if the name of an urban road is identical to that of a national highway, both the name of the urban road and the name and number of the national way can be used;

b/ The names and numbers of roads forming part of a regional or international road network shall be given according to agreements between Vietnam and concerned countries. For roads connected with a regional or international road network, both of their domestic and regional or international names and numbers can he used.

2. The naming and numbering of roads shall be decided by agencies with road-classifying competence; particularly for urban and provincial roads, their naming shall be decided by provincial-level People’s Councils at the proposal of the People’s Committees of the same level.

3. The Government shall issue specific regulations on the naming and numbering of roads.

Article 41. Road technical standards

1. Roads are technically graded into expressways and roads of other technical grades.

2. Newly built roads must satisfy technical standards of their relevant grade; roads currently in use but not yet graded shall be renovated and upgraded to reach technical standards of relevant grades; special-use roads must also have their own standards prescribed by law.

3. Responsibilities of ministries are defined as follows:

a/ The Ministry of Transport shall formulate, and guide the implementation of, technical standards of roads of all grades;

b/ The Ministry of Science and Technology shall promulgate national technical standards for roads of all grades.

4. The application of foreign technical standards to roads is subject to approval of competent state management agencies.

Article 42. Land funds reserved for road infrastructure facilities

1. Land funds for road infrastructure facilities shall be determined in road infrastructure plannings. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall determine and manage land funds reserved for road infrastructure construction projects according to the approved planning.

2. The proportion of land for urban traffic to urban construction land must be between 16% and 26%. The Government shall prescribe specific land proportions suitable to each type of urban centers.

Article 43. Land areas reserved for roads

1. A land area reserved for a road includes the land for such road and the road safety corridor.

2. Within a land area reserved for a road, it is strictly forbidden to build other works, except for a number of essential projects which cannot be built outside such area, provided that permission of competent agencies is obtained, including defense and security works, road administration and exploitation works, telecommunications and electricity works, water supply and drainage, petrol, oil and gas pipelines.

3. Within a road safety corridor, in addition to complying with Clause 2 of this Article, the road safety corridor land may be temporarily used for agricultural and advertisement purposes without affecting road work and traffic safety. The erection of advertisement billboards within the road safety corridor is subject to written approval of road administration agencies.

4. Current users of law-recognized land areas within the road safety corridor may continue using these land areas for already identified purposes without impeding the safe protection of road works.

If such land use affects the safe protection of road works, land users and work owners shall take measures to redress the problem; otherwise the State will recover the land areas and pay compensations under law.

5. The Government shall issue specific regulations on land areas reserved for roads, the use and exploitation of road safety corridor land, and the construction of essential works within land areas reserved for roads.

Article 44. Assurance of technical requirements and traffic safety of road works

1. Newly built, upgraded or renovated road works must ensure technical standards and conditions on traffic safety for road users and vehicles in traffic, including pedestrians and disabled people. Urban roads must have pavements, road sections, flyovers and tunnels and traffic organized for pedestrians and disabled people to travel safely and conveniently.

2. Road works must be appraised in terms of traffic safety from the time of project elaboration, designing and construction and throughout the use process. Investment deciders and investors shall take into account traffic safety appraisal results for additional approval of projects.

3. Urban centers, industrial parks, economic zones, residential areas, commercial and service quarters and other works must have collector road systems built outside the road safety corridor; and ensure a distance from national highways as stipulated by the Government.

4. Road connection is provided as follows:

a/ Collector roads must be connected to branch roads, if branch roads are available;

b/ If branch roads or collector roads are to be directly connected to the main road, their connection points must be permitted by a competent road state administration agency right at the stage of project formulation and designing;

c/ The connection of paths from urban centers, industrial parks, economic zones, residential areas, commercial and service quarters and other works to roads must comply with regulations of the Minister of Transport.

5. Along with highway sections running through residential areas, there must be collector roads to serve people’s daily-life activities.

Article 45. Road sign works

1. Road sign works include:

a/ Traffic light signals:

b/ Signs;

c/ Marker posts, barriers or protection fences;

d/ Road markings;

e/ Milestones;

f/ Other sign works.

2. Before being put into use, roads must be fully equipped with road sign works according to the approved designs.

3. It is prohibited to affix to road sign works any objects not related to the meanings and purposes of road sign works.

Article 46. Investment in construction and exploitation of road infrastructure facilities

1. Investment in the construction of road infrastructure facilities is investment in the construction, upgrading and renovation of road infrastructure facilities.

2. Investment in the construction of road infrastructure facilities must be in line with the road transportation planning already approved by competent authorities; comply with the process of investment and construction management and other legal provisions; and ensure technical standards of different grades of roads, landscape and environmental protection.

3. Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals may invest in the construction and commercial operation of road infrastructure facilities in accordance with law.

4. Competent People’s Committees shall assume the prime responsibility for ground clearance according to land recovery decisions of competent state agencies and create favorable conditions for organizations and individuals to invest in the construction and commercial operation of road infrastructure facilities.

5. Road infrastructure facilities, once constructed, upgraded or renovated, must be checked by competent agencies before it can be put into use.

Article 47. Construction of works on road currently in use

1. The construction of works on roads currently in use may be carried out only after permits of competent state agencies are obtained and must be in line with such permits and the law on construction.

2. In the course of construction, construction units shall put up signs and temporary fences at construction sites and take measures to ensure uninterrupted and safe traffic.

3. The construction or works on urban roads must comply with the provisions of Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article and the following provisions:

a/ Road digging may only be permitted for repairing works or building new technical tunnels along or across roads but according to annual plans which have been consented by the road administration agency, except for unexpected cases;

b/ There must be construction plans and schedules suitable to the characteristics of each street to ensure no traffic congestion;

c/ Upon the completion of construction, the road must be restored to its original conditions; for underground works, a dossier on construction completion must be compiled and handed over to the road administration agency.

4. Construction units shall take responsibility before law for failure to take measures to ensure uninterrupted and safe traffic according to regulations, for the occurrence of traffic accidents, traffic jams or serious environmental pollution.

Article 48. Road administration and maintenance

1. Road maintenance means activities of maintaining and repairing roads in order to preserve technical standards of roads currently in use.

2. Roads, after being put into use, must be administered and maintained as follows:

a/ Monitoring of the conditions of road works; organization of traffic; examination and inspection of the protection of road infrastructure facilities;

b/ Regular maintenance and regular and irregular repair.

3. Road administration and maintenance responsibilities are defined as follows:

a/ The Ministry of Transport is responsible for the national highway system;

b/ Provincial-level People’s Committees are responsible for the systems of provincial roads and urban roads. The administration and maintenance of systems of district and commune roads shall be prescribed by provincial-level People’s Committees;

c/ Special-use roads and roads not under state management and exploitation and roads built with non-state budget funding sources shall be administered and maintained by investors according to regulations.

4. The Minister of Transport shall issue regulations on road administration and maintenance.

Article 49. Financial sources for road administration and maintenance

1. Fundings for the administration and maintenance of national highways and local roads come from road maintenance funds.

Fundings for the administration and maintenance of special-use roads and roads not under state management and exploitation and roads built with non-state budget funding sources are covered by their administration and exploitation organizations and individuals.

2. Road maintenance funds shall be formed from the following sources:

a/ Annual state budget allocations;

b/ Revenue sources related to road use and other revenue sources as prescribed by law.

3. The Government shall issue specific regulations on the setting up, management and use of road maintenance funds at central and local levels.

Article 50. Building of level crossings between roads and railroad tracks

The construction of level crossings between roads and railroad tracks is subject to permission of competent state agencies, and must have designs which ensure technical standards and traffic safety conditions and have been approved by competent state agencies according to regulations of the Minister of Transport.

Article 51. Car terminals, parking lots, roadside service stations, vehicle mass inspection stations and road toll stations

1. In urban centers, the construction of working offices, schools, hospitals, trade and service centers, cultural centers and residential quarters must include the construction of parking lots suitable to the works’ sizes.

2. Car terminals, parking lots and roadside service stations must be built according to plannings already approved by competent state agencies, and must ensure technical standards.

3. Toll stations, where tolls for vehicles operating on the roads are collected, shall be built according to plannings or investment projects approved by competent sate agencies. Toll stations’ operations must ensure uninterrupted and safe traffic.

4. Vehicle mass inspection stations, where road administration agencies collect information on, analyze and assess the impacts of vehicle mass and size limits on road safety; inspect and handle violations of vehicles with sizes and mass in excess of the permitted size limits of roads, and caterpillars traveling on roads, shall be built according to a master plan elaborated by the Ministry of Transport and approved by the Prime Minister.

In case of necessity to protect road infrastructure facilities, the Minister of Transport shall decide on setting up temporary vehicle mass inspection stations.

5. The Minister of Transport shall issue regulations on technical specifications of car terminals, parking lots, roadside service stations, toll stations and vehicle mass inspection stations; and on the organization and operation of toll stations and vehicle mass inspection stations.

Article 52. Protection of road infrastructure facilities

1. Protection of road traffic infrastructure facilities covers ensuring safety and use life of road works and taking measures to prevent, stop and handle acts of illegally infringing upon road infrastructure facilities.

The protected area of road infrastructure facilities covers land areas of roads, road safety corridors, the space over and the subterranean and underwater spaces related to road work and traffic safety.

2. Organizations and individuals licensed to construct, renovate, expand and maintain works and carry out other activities within the protected area of road infrastructure facilities shall carry out these activities in accordance with law.

3. Road work administration units shall ensure works’ technical safety and take joint responsibility for traffic accidents occurring due to the quality of works under their administration; if detecting that road works are damaged or at risk of endangering traffic, they shall promptly repair them, and take measures to prevent, combat and promptly remedy consequences caused to road works by natural disasters.

4. Road infrastructure facility protection responsibilities are defined as follows:

a/ The Ministry of Transport shall organize and guide the road infrastructure facility protection; examine and inspect the implementation of the law on road infrastructure facility administration and protection;

b/ The Ministry of Public Security shall direct and guide the police in examining and handling violations of the law on road infrastructure facility protection according to its competence;

c/ The People’s Committees at all levels shall organize the protection of road infrastructure facilities in their localities; and protect road safety corridors in accordance with law;

d/ Ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall, within the scope of their respective tasks and powers, join in protecting road infrastructure facilities;

e/ The Government shall stipulate the coordination among ministries, ministerial-level agencies and People’s Committees in protecting road infrastructure facilities.

5. Those who detect that road works are damaged or infringed upon or road safety corridors are illegally occupied shall promptly report such to the nearest People’s Committees, road administration agencies or police offices for handling; in case of necessity, they shall take measures to notify road users thereof. Upon receiving reports, responsible agencies shall quickly take remedial measures to ensure uninterrupted and safe traffic.