Circular No. 39/2021/TT-BGTVT Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of Circular No. 50/2015/TT-BGTVT dated September 23, 2015 of the Minister of Transport guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 11/2010/NĐ-CP dated February 24, 2010 of the Government on management and protection of road traffic infrastructure.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some Articles of Circular No. 50/2015/TT-BGTVT

dated September 23, 2015 issued by the Minister of Transport guiding

the implementation of some provisions of Decree No. 11/2010/NĐ-CP dated February 24, 2010

of the Government on management and protection of road traffic infrastructure structures

Road traffic infrastructure

                        

Pursuant to the Road Traffic Law 2008 dated November 13, 2008;

Pursuant to the Planning Law dated November 24, 2017;

Pursuant to the Law Amending and Supplementing Some Provisions of 37 Related Laws on Planning dated June 15, 2018;

Pursuant to the Decree No. 11/2010/NĐ-CP dated February 24, 2010 of the Government on management and protection of road infrastructure;

Pursuant to Decree No. 117/2021/NĐ-CP dated December 22, 2021 of the Government amending and supplementing some provisions of Decree No. 11/2010/NĐ-CP dated February 24, 2010 of the Government on management and protection of road traffic infrastructure structures;

Pursuant to Decree No. 12/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 10, 2017, issued by the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

At the proposal of the Director of the Infrastructure Department and the Director General of the Vietnam Highway Administration;

The Minister of Transport promulgates this Circular amending and supplementing some provisions of Circular No. 50/2015/TT-BGTVT dated September 23, 2015 issued by the Minister of Transport guiding the implementation of some provisions of Decree No. 11/2010/NĐ-CP dated February 24, 2010 of the Government on management and protection of road traffic infrastructure structures.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some provisions of Circular No. 50/2015/TT-BGTVT dated September 23, 2015 issued by the Minister of Transport guiding the implementation of some provisions of Decree No. 11/2010/NĐ-CP dated February 24, 2010 of the Government on management and protection of road traffic infrastructure structures

1. Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 11 as follows:

“Article 11. Management, use, exploitation of the scope of protection of road traffic infrastructure structures constructed under public-private partnership and dedicated roads

1. For the construction of essential works related to road projects constructed under public-private partnership, when the competent road authority approves the construction, in addition to implementing the provisions of this Circular, written opinions must also be obtained from the investor or private partner enterprise in cases of excavation, drilling, cutting through the road; affecting load-bearing capacity, fire safety, and operational safety of the road project.”

2. Amend and supplement Article 13 as follows:

“Article 13. Approval for construction of essential works, simultaneous approval for construction with issuance of construction permit for essential works within the scope of protection of road traffic infrastructure structures of national highways and expressways currently in operation under the management of the Ministry of Transport

1. The Ministry of Transport shall approve the construction of essential works within the scope of protection of expressway infrastructure structures, except for power projects with voltage up to 35 kV.

2. The Vietnam Highway Administration shall approve the construction of essential works within the scope of protection of highway infrastructure structures managed by the Ministry of Transport in the following cases:

a) Construction of essential works within the scope of protection of highway infrastructure structures managed by the Ministry of Transport involving the management areas of two or more Highway Management Bureaus or Provincial Departments of Transport, except for power projects with voltage up to 35 kV;

b) Construction of essential works serving defense and security purposes upon request of military or police agencies; Essential works installed on bridges, tunnels with a grade of II or higher according to construction classification regulations, weak bridges, bridges beyond their service life affecting bridge safety; Essential works with a diameter greater than 300 mm; Power projects with voltage of 110 kV or higher (excluding overhead power lines crossing above national highways where poles are outside the highway safety zone).

3. Highway Management Bureaus and Provincial Departments of Transport shall simultaneously approve construction and issue construction permits for essential works within the scope of protection of road traffic infrastructure structures of the assigned road routes, except for the cases stipulated in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

4. The application dossier for approval of construction of essential works, simultaneous approval for construction with issuance of construction permit for essential works includes:

a) Application form for construction of essential works within the scope of protection of road traffic infrastructure structures according to Model 1 attached to this Circular;

b) Design dossier of essential works (technical design or construction drawings), economic and technical report approved by the competent authority including information about the location and mileage of the road at the site of construction of essential works; plan showing the area and size of essential works on the road surface and within the land reserved for the road; elevation view and distance vertically from the essential works above or below the road surface, horizontal distance from the column, power line, pipeline, other parts of the essential works to the outer edge of the longitudinal drainage ditch, edge of the carriageway or outer edge of the road surface; parts of the road structure that need to be excavated or drilled during construction of essential works; design of road structure and measures for restoration of the road structure within the land reserved for the road affected by excavation or construction of essential works;

c) For essential works constructed within the central median strip of the road, in addition to the dossier specified in points a and b of this clause, information about the vertical distance from the essential works to the surface of the central median strip, from the essential works to the outer edge of the central median strip must also be provided;

d) For essential works installed on bridges, tunnels or other complex road structures, in addition to the dossier specified in points a and b of this clause, a report on the results of design review must also be provided;

đ) In case of simultaneous approval for construction and issuance of construction permit for essential works, the application dossier shall include the application form according to Model 1a and the dossier as stipulated in point b of Clause 2 of Article 14 of this Circular.

5. The procedure for implementation shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of this Circular.

6. Time limit for resolution:

a) For the dossier approving the construction of essential works: the time limit for resolution is seven working days from the date of receipt of complete dossier as prescribed;

b) In cases where approval for construction is granted simultaneously with issuance of the construction permit for essential works, the time limit for resolution shall be in accordance with the provisions of point b, Clause 4, Article 14 of this Circular.

7. Within eighteen months from the date of the construction approval document for essential works or simultaneous approval for construction and issuance of the construction permit for essential works, if the owner of the essential works has not commenced construction or completed the construction permit procedures, they must extend the construction approval document. The extension procedures are as follows:

a) An application for extension in the form attached as Appendix 2 to this Circular;

b) Time limit for resolution: five working days from the date of receipt of the extension application;

c) Extension period: only one extension may be implemented, with a duration not exceeding twelve months;

d) The procedure for implementation shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of this Circular.”

3. Amend and supplement Article 20 as follows:

“Article 20. Connection to National Highway

1. Principles for connection to National Highway

a) Connection to National Highway must comply with approved master plans by competent authorities;

b) No connection to expressways, ramps within the scope of expressway interchanges, or expressways that have been constructed in phases;

c) No connection to sections of national highways planned as expressways except in special cases including: Group A projects (as stipulated in Clause 1, Point a, Clause 2, Article 8 of the Law on Public Investment), and important national projects; these cases will be connected to service roads or side roads when the national highway sections are constructed and completed according to expressway standards;

d) No connection within the protected area of road infrastructure of bridges, tunnels, pontoon bridges, ferry terminals;

đ) No connection or shared use of railway intersections with national highways.

2. Requirements for connection to National Highway

a) Ensuring the minimum distance between two connection points as prescribed in Article 21 of this Circular;

b) Having sufficient land for designing and constructing speed change lanes, left-turn waiting lanes, and other technical requirements of the intersection according to current automobile design standards;

c) No connection to the inside of a curve with a radius smaller than the standard minimum curve radius according to the planned road grade; the outside of a curve with superelevation; in steep sections with a longitudinal slope greater than the maximum allowable longitudinal slope of the existing road; in areas where driver visibility is not guaranteed.

3. Design of intersections connecting to National Highway must comply with current technical standards and regulations on automobile design requirements, ensuring traffic safety and the operational capacity of the national highway.

4. Organizations and individuals assigned by the Provincial People's Committee to use connection points to National Highway must prepare and submit a dossier to the competent road management agency for examination, approval of design, traffic organization plan, and construction permit in accordance with Articles 26 and 27 of this Circular.

5. In cases of shared use of connection points, it applies only to one project or work adjacent directly to the branch road of the existing connection point, without creating new connection points. The Provincial People's Committee decides on the shared use of existing connection points to National Highway. Organizations and individuals requiring shared use of connection points must carry out intersection improvement after obtaining technical design approval and construction permit from the competent road authority as prescribed.

6. For connection points to National Highway of projects or works decided by the Ministry of Transport, Vietnam Road Administration as investors or principal investors, they shall implement according to the technical design approved by the competent authority, without having to go through the connection approval process for National Highway.”

4. Amending and supplementing Article 21 as follows:

“Article 21. Minimum Distance Between Two Connection Points to National Highway

1. For sections of National Highway within the administrative boundaries of inner city or town (wards, towns), the minimum distance between two connection points shall not be less than the minimum distance between two roads as prescribed in the National Technical Regulation on Master Planning.

In cases where the administrative boundaries of inner city or town (wards, towns) are formed or expanded, the minimum distance between two adjacent connection points shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Clause 2 of this Article.

2. For sections of National Highway outside the inner city or town area, the minimum distance between two connection points is as follows:

a) For National Highway sections without median strip, the distance between adjacent connection points on the same side along the section is determined based on the planning grade of the section, specifically: for Class III roads, it shall not be less than 1,500 meters, and for Class IV and below roads, it shall not be less than 1,000 meters.

b) For National Highway sections with median strip, having sufficient land to build speed change lanes (vehicles turning right only at the intersection), the distance between adjacent connection points on the same side along the section is determined based on the planning grade of the section, specifically: for Class I and II roads, it shall not be less than 2,000 meters; for Class III and below roads, it shall not be less than 1,000 meters.

5. Amend and supplement Article 22 as follows:

“Article 22. Determination of Connection Points to National Highway

1. The determination of connection points includes: determining the location and form of intersection between National Highway and branch roads to establish traffic organization plans and construct intersections to ensure safe and smooth traffic flow and protect road works.

2. The Department of Transportation is responsible for preparing and submitting a dossier to determine connection points to National Highway in the province to the Provincial People's Committee for examination and approval. The determination of connection points shall be carried out for all national highways passing through the province or individually for each national highway.”

3. In cases where the opinion of the Ministry of Transport is required pursuant to Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree No. 117/2021/ND-CP dated December 22, 2021 amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 11/2010/ND-CP dated February 24, 2010 of the Government on management and protection of road traffic infrastructure (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 117/2021/ND-CP), the People's Committee of the province shall submit the application for opinion in accordance with Article 24 of this Circular to the Ministry of Transport and the Vietnam Highway Corporation.

The Vietnam Highway Corporation shall be responsible for studying the application for connection, reporting to the Ministry of Transport for consideration, and replying to the People's Committee of the province.

6. Amending and supplementing Article 23 as follows:

"Article 23. Implementation of determining connection points to national highways.

1. Collect information on the current technical grade and planned technical grade of the national highway to which connections are proposed.

2. Survey and compile statistics

a) Existing branch roads as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree No. 117/2021/ND-CP; determine connection points of existing branch roads that have been and have not been permitted by competent authorities; suitable locations for connection points in compliance with current standards regarding traffic intersection requirements for automobile roads;

b) Sections of national highways within urban areas (wards, towns), outside urban areas; compile sections lacking land reserves for constructing service roads, structures, and geographical conditions hindering continuous construction of service roads along the length of the national highway;

c) Branch roads with a cross-section width of less than or equal to 2.5 meters, only used for motorcycles, motorbikes, and non-motorized vehicles, which were spontaneously connected to national highways before the effective date of Decree No. 186/2004/ND-CP dated November 5, 2004 of the Government on management and protection of road traffic infrastructure;

3. Solicit opinions from local functional agencies on the compatibility with relevant plans and land reserves for constructing service roads.

4. Each national highway shall establish a separate file for determining connection points for ease of monitoring and management."

7. Amend and supplement Article 24 as follows:

"Article 24. Documents for determining connection points to national highways

Documents for determining connection points to national highways include:

1. Explanation

a) Economic and social development situation of the locality and regions adjacent to the national highway with proposed connection points; information about the planning of the route and section of the national highway with proposed connection points; situation of using the safe road corridor and traffic safety on the section;

b) Current status of the route and section of the national highway with proposed connection points: existing road grade, start point, end point, urban area; topographical characteristics at the connection point (deep valleys, high mountains, rivers, streams; radius of curvature, sight distance, buildings, structures; obstacles that cannot be relocated, feasibility of constructing service roads; nearby structures such as bridges, tunnels, intersections with railways); feasibility of allocating land reserves to ensure geometric factors of the intersection, arrangement of left-turn lanes, lane-changing lanes. Sketch map of the road within the range from the proposed connection point to both sides, each side not less than the minimum distance specified in Article 21 of this Circular according to the planned road grade;

c) Reasons why the proposed connection points do not meet the requirements stipulated in Clause 2, Article 20 of this Circular; phased plan to eliminate small-scale branch roads as stipulated in Point c, Clause 2, Article 23 of this Circular;

d) Relevant plans and decisions of competent authorities approving matters related to the proposed connection points to national highways (if any);

đ) Urban development plans already approved by competent authorities of cities through which the national highway passes (if any);

e) Opinions of the Road Management Agency regarding the current status of the route and section of the national highway with proposed connection points as stipulated in Point b of this clause; compliance with laws, impact on traffic safety concerning the location and form of intersection of the proposed connection points to the national highway;

g) Opinions of investors for cases of connecting to national highways within the scope of public-private partnership investment projects regarding impacts on safety, durability of the structure, and vehicle flow through toll stations;

h) Opinions of the Ministry of Transport for cases that do not fully meet the requirements for connecting to national highways as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 20 of this Circular.

2. Summary of connection points:

a) A summary table of connection points including basic contents: current status and determination of the location and form of intersection of the connection points; current status and determination of the location and scale of service roads;

b) Sketch map showing the contents of the summary table."

8. Amend and supplement Article 25 as follows:

"Article 25. Decision on connection points

1. Based on the documents for determining connection points submitted by the Department of Transport, the People's Committee of the province shall decide to approve the connection points, announce and organize implementation; send the decision approving the connection points to the Ministry of Transport, the Vietnam Highway Corporation, and the Regional Road Management Agency.

2. When it is necessary to construct new or upgrade, expand the approved connection points, based on the permit for using the connection points issued by the People's Committee of the province, organizations and individuals using the connection points shall prepare documents in accordance with Clause 3, Article 26 of this Circular to obtain approval.

3. After constructing new or upgrading, expanding the approved connection points, the People's Committee of the province must remove those that do not meet the minimum distance requirement near the connection points."

9. Amend and supplement Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 26 as follows:

"1. Before upgrading, reconstructing, or constructing new intersections, the user or agency/unit assigned to prepare the project shall, based on current automobile road design standards and requirements, prepare documents and submit them to the competent road management authority for examination and approval of the technical design and traffic organization plan of the intersection connecting to the national highway.

2. The competent authority approves the technical design of the intersection connecting to the national highway

a) The Vietnam Highway Corporation approves the design and traffic organization plan, retains the documents for intersections connecting to sections of national highways that have been planned as expressways, ensuring compliance with the provisions of Article 20 of this Circular;

b) The Highway Administration Department and the Provincial Department of Transport shall approve the design and traffic organization plan for the intersections connecting to national highways under their management, except in cases provided for in point a of this clause.

Article 2. Transitional Provisions

1. In case the application file for agreement on connection to a national highway was submitted to the Ministry of Transport before the effectiveness date of this Circular, it shall continue to be processed in accordance with Circular No. 50/2015/TT-BGTVT dated September 23, 2015, guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Government Decree No. 11/2010/NĐ-CP dated February 24, 2010, on the management and protection of road transport infrastructure (amended and supplemented by Circulars No. 35/2017/TT-BGTVT dated October 9, 2017, and No. 13/2020/TT-BGTVT dated June 29, 2020, both issued by the Minister of Transport).

2. In case the application file for approval of technical design and traffic organization plan for the intersection connecting to a national highway was submitted to the General Department of Roads of Vietnam before the effectiveness date of this Circular, it shall continue to be processed in accordance with Circular No. 50/2015/TT-BGTVT dated September 23, 2015, guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Government Decree No. 11/2010/NĐ-CP dated February 24, 2010, on the management and protection of road transport infrastructure (amended and supplemented by Circulars No. 35/2017/TT-BGTVT dated October 9, 2017, and No. 13/2020/TT-BGTVT dated June 29, 2020, both issued by the Minister of Transport).

Article 3. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from February 15, 2022.

2. The following regulations are abolished:

a) Clause 1 of Article 1 and Clause 1 of Article 2 of Circular No. 13/2020/TT-BGTVT dated June 29, 2020, amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 50/2015/TT-BGTVT dated September 23, 2015, guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Government Decree No. 11/2010/NĐ-CP dated February 24, 2010, on the management and protection of road transport infrastructure;

b) Point a and point b of Clause 9; point a, point b, point c, and point e of Clause 10; and Clause 11 of Article 1 of Circular No. 35/2017/TT-BGTVT dated October 9, 2017, amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 50/2015/TT-BGTVT dated September 23, 2015, guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Government Decree No. 11/2010/NĐ-CP dated February 24, 2010, on the management and protection of road transport infrastructure.

3. The Director of the Ministry's Office, the Inspector General of the Ministry, the Heads of the Departments under the Ministry, the General Director of the General Department of Roads of Vietnam, and the Heads of relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Circular./.