Circular No. 41/2024/TT-BGTVT on the management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure structures

 CIRCULAR

Regulations on management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure

Pursuant to the Road Law dated June 27, 2024;

Pursuant to Decree No. 56/2022/NĐ-CP dated August 24, 2022 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

Pursuant to Decree No. 06/2021/NĐ-CP dated January 26, 2021 of the Government detailing certain contents regarding quality management, construction, and maintenance of construction projects;

Pursuant to Decree No. 44/2024/NĐ-CP dated April 24, 2024 of the Government on the management, use, and exploitation of assets of road transport infrastructure;

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

The Minister of Transport hereby issues this Circular stipulating regulations on management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates on:

1. Procedures and formalities for approving design and procedures and formalities for issuing construction permits for intersections connecting to operational national highways;

2. Authority, procedures, contents for issuing construction permits for works on operational roads; responsibilities for providing information and coordination mechanisms among relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals to ensure traffic order and safety, and safety during construction;

3. Management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure;

4. Activities of vehicle weight control facilities.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals related to: procedures for approving design and issuing construction permits for intersections connecting to operational national highways; procedures for issuing construction permits for works on operational roads; provision of information and coordination mechanisms among relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals to ensure traffic order and safety, and safety during construction; management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure; activities of vehicle weight control facilities.

PART II

PROCEDURES AND FORMALITIES FOR APPROVING DESIGN AND ISSUING CONSTRUCTION PERMITS FOR INTERSECTIONS CONNECTING TO OPERATIONAL NATIONAL HIGHWAYS; ISSUING CONSTRUCTION PERMITS FOR WORKS ON OPERATIONAL ROADS

Article 3. Approval of design for intersections connecting to operational national highways

1. The project investor for constructing intersections connecting to operational national highways shall submit one set of application documents for approval of intersection design directly or indirectly (through postal service or online public service portal) to the competent authority as specified in Clause 2 of this Article. The application documents include:

a) Application form according to Model No. 01 in Appendix I issued together with this Circular;

b) Survey and construction drawing design documents for the intersection connecting to operational national highways, including: design description, intersection design drawings, drawings for restoring road infrastructure, traffic organization drawings at the intersection, topographic and geological survey documents; documents/decisions approving the connection location to operational national highways except for locations not requiring approval as provided for in the Detailed Decree guiding implementation of certain provisions of the Road Law, Article 77 of the Traffic Order and Safety Law on Roads;

c) Document assigning the project investor for constructing intersections connecting to operational national highways.

2. The competent authority for approving the design of intersections connecting to operational national highways:

b) For national highways managed by provincial People's Committees, the provincial People's Committees organize the approval of the design of intersections connecting to operational national highways.

3. The competent authority shall undertake receipt, examination of documents, and processing as follows:

a) For directly submitted documents, the competent authority shall examine the document components, if complete, accept and issue a receipt for result delivery, if incomplete, guide the investor to complete the documents according to regulations;

b) For indirectly submitted documents, within two working days from the date of receiving the documents, the competent authority shall examine the document components, if complete, accept, if incomplete, issue a written notice to the organization or individual to supplement and complete;

c) Within seven working days from the date of receiving complete documents as prescribed, the competent authority shall examine the documents, if conditions are met, issue a design approval document for intersections connecting to operational national highways according to Model No. 02 in Appendix I issued together with this Circular, if not approved, must issue a written response stating the reasons.

4. The design approval document for intersections has a validity period of 18 months, upon expiration of which, if the investor has not submitted the application documents for construction permit for intersections connecting to operational national highways as prescribed in Article 4 of this Circular or there have been changes in the scale of the intersection, then the design approval procedure must be restarted from the beginning.

Article 4. Permit for construction at intersections connecting to operational national highways

1. The project investor constructing intersections connecting to operational national highways shall submit one set of application documents for permit to construct intersections connecting to operational national highways directly or indirectly (through postal service or online public service portal) to the competent authority specified in Clause 2 of this Article. The application documents include:

a) Application form according to Model No. 03 of Appendix I issued together with this Circular;

b) Description and drawings of construction organization measures for intersections connecting to operational national highways; traffic safety measures during construction of intersections connecting to operational national highways.

2. Competent authority issuing permits for construction at intersections connecting to operational national highways:

b) For national highways managed by provincial People's Committees, provincial People's Committees shall organize the issuance of permits for construction at intersections connecting to national highways.

3. The competent authority shall undertake receipt, examination of documents, and processing as follows:

a) For directly submitted documents, the competent authority shall examine the document components, if complete, accept and issue a receipt for result delivery, if incomplete, guide the investor to complete the documents according to regulations;

b) For applications submitted indirectly, within two working days from the date of receipt of the application documents, the competent authority shall check the completeness of the documents, accept them if complete, and notify organizations or individuals in writing to supplement and perfect the documents if incomplete;

c) Within seven working days from the date of receiving complete application documents as prescribed, the competent authority shall examine the documents, issue a construction permit for intersections connecting to operational national highways according to Model No. 04 of Appendix I issued together with this Circular if conditions are met; in case of non-approval, a written response must be provided with clear reasons stated.

4. Validity period of the construction permit for intersections connecting to operational national highways:

a) For intersections connecting to projects under public investment or public-private partnership, the validity period of the construction permit for intersections connecting to operational national highways is based on the project implementation schedule;

b) For other cases not covered by point a of this clause, the validity period of the construction permit for intersections connecting to operational national highways shall not exceed twenty-four months from the date of issuance of the construction permit for intersections connecting to operational national highways;

c) Upon expiration of the validity period of the construction permit without completion of construction of intersections connecting to operational national highways, the entire permitting process must be restarted.

Article 5. Issuance of Construction Permits for Works on Operational Roads

1. The project investor constructing works on operational roads shall submit one set of application documents for a construction permit for works on operational roads directly or indirectly (through postal service or online public service portal) to the competent authority specified in Clause 3 of this Article. The application documents include:

a) Application form according to Model No. 01 of Appendix II issued together with this Circular;

b) Supporting documents for issuance of construction permits as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Supporting documents for issuance of construction permits include:

a) Construction design drawings containing information about the location and mileage of the road work, the drawings must show: area and size of the work on the road plan and within the land reserved for the road; vertical face and distance vertically from the upper or lower structure to the surface of the road work, horizontal distance from the column, power line, pipeline, other parts of the proposed work to the outer edge of the longitudinal drainage ditch, edge of the vehicle lane or outer edge of the road surface; parts of the road work that need to be excavated or drilled when constructing the work;

b) For works proposed for construction permits within the central median strip of the road, in addition to the documents specified in point a of this clause, information about vertical and horizontal distances from the edge of the proposed work to the surface and outer edge of the central median strip must also be included;

c) For works proposed for construction permits installed on bridges, tunnels, or other complex road structures, in addition to the documents specified in point a of this clause, a report on the results of design review and calculation of load-bearing capacity of the road work conducted by a consulting organization with sufficient capacity as prescribed by laws on construction must also be included;

d) Design drawings for restoration of affected road works; drawings and descriptions: construction organization measures, traffic safety measures during construction on operational roads.

4. The competent authority shall handle the receipt, examination of documents, and processing as follows:

a) For directly submitted documents, the competent authority shall examine the document components, if complete, accept and issue a receipt for result delivery, if incomplete, guide the investor to complete the documents according to regulations;

b) For indirectly submitted documents, within two working days from the date of receiving the documents, the competent authority shall examine the document components, if complete, accept, if incomplete, issue a written notice to the organization or individual to supplement and complete;

c) Within seven working days from the date of receiving complete application documents as prescribed, the competent authority shall examine the documents, issue a construction permit according to Model No. 02 of Appendix II issued together with this Circular if conditions are met; in case of non-issuance, a written response must be provided with clear reasons stated.

5. The construction permit has a validity period of twenty-four months; upon expiration of this period without completion of construction of works on operational roads, the entire construction permit process for works on operational roads must be restarted.

Article 6. Provision of information and coordination mechanisms among agencies, organizations, and individuals when construction work is carried out on operational roads

1. Responsibilities of organizations and individuals granted permits to carry out construction works on operational roads:

a) At least five days before commencing construction, must install public information boards at the construction site containing the name of the project owner, contractor, supervising entity, start date, end date of construction; contact phone numbers of representatives from the project owner, contractor, and supervising entity for organizations and individuals to contact and provide necessary information to ensure construction safety and traffic safety during construction on operational roads;

b) Announce the information specified in point a of this clause and traffic organization measures to: the road management agency directly managing the route, traffic police force along the route, and publish on at least one media outlet;

c) Adjust and supplement traffic safety measures upon request of the road management agency directly managing the route and traffic police force along the route during construction on operational roads.

2. For construction works not requiring construction permits on operational roads as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 32 of the Road Law, organizations and individuals carrying out construction on operational roads shall implement according to Clause 5, Article 32 of the Road Law and the following provisions:

a) Implement according to the provisions of point a, Clause 1 of this Article, except for cases of construction works stipulated in points a, đ, e, and k of Clause 3, Article 32 of the Road Law;

b) Implement according to the provisions of point b, Clause 1 of this Article, except for cases stipulated in points a, đ, e, and k of Clause 3, Article 32 of the Road Law.

3. Responsibilities of the road management agency directly managing the route:

a) Inspect compliance with the construction permit;

b) Temporarily suspend, revoke, or propose the issuing authority to decide on temporarily suspending or revoking the construction permit for projects on operational roads in cases of violations of the contents stipulated in the construction permit;

c) Handle any arising complaints during the construction of projects on operational roads;

d) Coordinate with the traffic police force along the route in ensuring traffic order and safety.

CHAPTER III

MANAGEMENT, OPERATION, EXPLOITATION, MAINTENANCE OF ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

Section 1.

MAINTENANCE PROCEDURE FILES, MANAGEMENT, OPERATION, EXPLOITATION, MAINTENANCE PLANS FOR ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

Article 7. Maintenance procedure files for road infrastructure

1. The maintenance procedure file for road infrastructure shall include:

a) Documents prescribed in Clause 8, Article 34 of Decree No. 06/2021/ND-CP; technical standards and regulations on maintenance of road infrastructure projects;

b) Provisions on supervision and acceptance of maintenance results of road infrastructure assets based on quality implementation.

2. The project owner is responsible for establishing and approving the maintenance procedures for road infrastructure projects at the technical design stage or construction drawing design stage, except in cases stipulated in Clause 1 of this Circular.

3. In cases where it is necessary to adjust or supplement the maintenance procedures for road infrastructure projects that have been put into operation, the basis for establishment includes the following provisions:

a) Relevant technical standards and regulations; currently applied maintenance procedures;

b) Scale and technical condition of the operational project;

c) Results of inspection, maintenance, repair, monitoring, quality testing, load-bearing safety assessment, and operation and utilization of the project;

d) Information and data on vehicle counts, weight control facilities, traffic conditions on the route, geological, hydrological, and topographical data affecting the road infrastructure project.

Article 8. Using technical standards on maintenance and maintenance procedures of similar works to implement the maintenance of road infrastructure structures

1. In cases where there are maintenance standards or maintenance procedures for similar works that are suitable, the owner or manager/user of the work may apply such standards or procedures to the work without having to establish separate maintenance procedures.

2. In cases where certain parts or components of the work are not included in the maintenance standards or maintenance procedures stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, additional maintenance procedures must be established for these parts or components.

Article 9. Plan for management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure structures

1. The plan for management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure structures shall be prepared and approved annually according to the model number 01 Appendix III issued together with this Circular. The tasks in the plan for management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure structures include:

a) Regular maintenance, periodic repairs, emergency repairs, works carried over from the previous year, quality inspection, monitoring of works, safety assessment of road infrastructure structures and their components, facilities, and equipment serving management, operation, and exploitation of roads;

b) Management, operation, exploitation, and use of road works, lighting systems on roads, and components, parts, and equipment attached to roads serving the exploitation of road works;

c) Management and operation of systems: bridge management; surveying, collecting, building, storing, exploiting road data, and software repair to ensure the proper functioning and safety of the works but excluding tasks fully guaranteed by self-funded administrative expenses of agencies and units; vehicle weight control works;

d) Establishing standards, technical regulations, norms on management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure structures; maintenance procedures, operation, and exploitation procedures for road infrastructure structures;

e) Adjusting and supplementing the road safety zone boundaries during the exploitation and use of road works;

g) Subsidizing (the part not included in the price) for ferry services; repairing, replacing, and supplementing ferries, river-crossing vehicles, and equipment; purchasing supplementary equipment and spare parts for ferries and river-crossing vehicles and equipment;

h) Purchasing patrol uniforms; supporting inspection and supervision tasks for road traffic infrastructure; disaster aftermath recovery and ensuring traffic;

i) Ensuring traffic control duty at branch road exits and entrances to expressways, tunnel gates according to maintenance procedures and operation and exploitation procedures or in urgent situations requiring traffic safety assurance and traffic congestion relief as required by the road management authority; conducting traffic safety audits for operational road works;

k) Purchasing supplementary materials and equipment for disaster prevention and aftermath recovery; managing, protecting, and maintaining reserve material warehouses for disaster prevention and aftermath recovery;

l) Managing, operating, and maintaining projects invested in through public-private partnership methods received from investors after terminating project contracts according to the contract's specified term or prematurely terminating contracts according to laws on public-private partnership methods before completing ownership establishment procedures;

m) Tasks to serve the preparation of annual maintenance work plans and budgets (including costs for using data collection technology systems); other tasks for owners or managers/users of road works to organize regular maintenance supervision and acceptance tasks for road works;

n) Other tasks as prescribed by law.

2. Responsibilities for establishing, approving, and adjusting plans for management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure structures:

b) People's Committees at all levels shall organize the establishment, approval, and adjustment of plans for management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure structures within their jurisdiction;

c) Investors, enterprises receiving asset transfer rights or leasing rights of road infrastructure structures shall establish, approve, and adjust plans for management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure structures according to the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article and the contract;

d) Enterprises entrusted by the state to manage, operate, and use roads, enterprises investing through public-private partnership methods, owners, and managers/users of dedicated roads shall establish, approve, and adjust plans for management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure structures within their jurisdiction according to the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article and laws on enterprises;

đ) Responsibilities for establishing, approving, and adjusting plans for management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of dedicated road infrastructure structures and road infrastructure structures funded by other sources shall be implemented according to the provisions of Article 32 of Decree No. 06/2021/NĐ-CP.

a) Based on the technical condition, transportation demand, information about the scale and structure of the works, repair and maintenance history, other data on the exploitation of road infrastructure structures; technical standards, maintenance procedures, economic-technical norms; the Vietnam Highway Administration shall organize the preparation of road infrastructure maintenance needs including the tasks stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article and prepare priority projects for next year's investment preparation to submit to the Ministry of Transport before May 30 each year;

b) The Ministry of Transport shall approve the maintenance needs for road infrastructure structures simultaneously with the approval of works and priority project lists to prepare for investment in the following year's plan before June 30 each year;

c) Based on the works and priority project lists specified in point b of this clause, the Vietnam Highway Administration shall be responsible for organizing the establishment, examination, and approval of projects, technical and economic reports for repair works, budgets for works within the management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance plans for road infrastructure structures before December 31 each year. In cases where necessary, the Vietnam Highway Administration may adjust the length and route of sections to be repaired, technical solutions, and supplement traffic safety items within the budget approved by the Ministry of Transport; for cases requiring measures to ensure load-bearing safety for parts of bridge, culvert, tunnel, ferry structure components, the Vietnam Highway Administration's approval shall not exceed 20% of the budget approved by the Ministry of Transport;

d) Based on the works and priority project lists at point b of this clause; the maintenance list (including maintenance, emergency repairs, and projects carried over from the previous year) and management, operation, exploitation works for road infrastructure structures, the Vietnam Highway Administration shall compile and submit to the Ministry of Transport the management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance plan for road infrastructure structures for the following year before November 10 each year;

đ) Within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the state budget revenue and expenditure estimates from the competent authority, the Ministry of Transport shall approve the management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance plan for road infrastructure structures for the following year;

e) In cases where the competent authority announces that the actual funds available are insufficient to cover all management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance works for road infrastructure structures, the works and priority projects in this plan shall include: maintenance; addressing accident-prone points and potential accident points; projects carried over from the previous year; repairs to ensure the safety of structures and road traffic safety, safe operation and exploitation of ferry terminals, floating bridges, and road tunnels; addressing collapse risks of structures; operating ferry terminals and floating bridges; other necessary works approved by the competent authority in the management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance plan for road infrastructure structures;

a) In cases where it is necessary to adjust or supplement the list of management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance works for road infrastructure structures included in the annual maintenance need decision approved by the Ministry of Transport in June or in cases where it is necessary to add emergency repair projects outside points b and c of Article 4 of this Decree to the already approved management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance plans for road infrastructure structures, the Vietnam Highway Administration shall submit to the Ministry of Transport for approval of adjustments and supplements to the list and preparation works;

b) In cases of emergency repairs to the list and management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance works with values ranging from five hundred million VND to five billion VND, and repairs to accident-prone points, the Vietnam Highway Administration shall decide and organize implementation according to regulations;

c) In cases of emergency repairs to the list and management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance works with values less than five hundred million VND, the Road Management Zones shall decide and organize implementation according to regulations;

d) In cases of constructing projects under urgent construction orders to address disaster consequences, the Vietnam Highway Administration shall be responsible for the use of funds and implementation methods according to regulations on disaster prevention, control, and aftermath handling in the field of roads by the Minister of the Ministry of Transport;

đ) The Vietnam Highway Administration shall be responsible for compiling cases stipulated in points a, b, c, and d of this clause and submitting to the Ministry of Transport for approval of adjustments to the management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance plans for road infrastructure structures.

Article 10. Report on the Results of Implementing the Management, Operation, Exploitation, and Maintenance Plan for Road Infrastructure

1. Provisions on Reporting:

a) The report on the results of implementing the management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance plan for road infrastructure shall be conducted quarterly, mid-year, and annually according to Model No. 02 in Appendix III issued together with this Circular;

b) Deadline for reporting: quarterly reports before the 20th day of the last month of each quarter; mid-year reports before June 20th and annual reports before November 20th each year;

c) Time to finalize data for quarterly, mid-year, and annual reports: ten days prior to the reporting deadlines specified in point b of this clause.

2. Responsibility for Reporting:

b) For roads as stipulated in Clause 2 and Clause 4, Article 8 of the Road Law: local highway management agencies shall report to the People's Committee of the province on the implementation results within their assigned management and maintenance scope;

c) For road infrastructure under public-private partnership contracts during the contract period: enterprises managing, operating, exploiting, using, and maintaining such infrastructure shall report to the contracting authority as prescribed in the contract.

3. In addition to regular reports as provided for in Clause 1 of this Article, agencies and units as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article shall have the responsibility to submit ad hoc reports upon request from competent authorities.

PART 2.

MAINTENANCE OF ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

Article 11. Supervision and Acceptance of Maintenance Results for Road Infrastructure Projects According to Actual Quality; Contract Duration for Maintenance According to Actual Quality; Establishment of Records and Documentation of Maintenance Results for Road Infrastructure

1. Maintenance based on actual quality applies to regular maintenance activities of projects belonging to road infrastructure; supervision of regular maintenance work is carried out through routine inspections and monitoring by road managers and users; acceptance of maintenance results for road infrastructure projects according to actual quality is conducted monthly or quarterly.

2. Criteria for supervision and acceptance of maintenance results based on actual quality are implemented according to Model No. 01 in Appendix IV issued together with this Circular.

3. Road managers and users are responsible for organizing supervision and acceptance of the implementation results of regular maintenance for projects belonging to road infrastructure assets.

4. The Vietnam Highway Administration decides to apply maintenance based on actual quality or maintenance based on actual volume for regular maintenance activities of projects belonging to road infrastructure assets managed centrally.

5. The duration of service procurement contracts for regular maintenance of projects belonging to road infrastructure assets shall not exceed three years. Contract parties shall adjust the contract when the scope of regular maintenance contracts is adjusted due to investment projects for renovation, upgrading, expansion, or repair works; when the state changes labor rates, standards, and other changes as prescribed by law.

6. Regular maintenance records and documentation of regular maintenance implementation results for projects belonging to road infrastructure assets include:

a) Weekly road inspection logs as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 19 of this Circular;

b) Regular maintenance implementation results for projects belonging to road infrastructure assets are recorded in regular maintenance implementation books according to Model No. 02 in Appendix IV issued together with this Circular.

Article 12. Duration of use of works, periodic repair period

1. The design duration of use of road works (design life) is the period during which the work is expected to be used, ensuring safety and functionality requirements. The design duration of use of works is specified in technical standards and regulations applicable to the design and construction tasks of the works.

In cases where the design standards for works do not specify the duration of use of road works for determining the periodic repair period of the road surface, the anticipated usage period shall be determined according to Appendix V issued together with this Circular or determined based on the accumulated standard axle load in the design compared to the accumulated standard axle load during operation; the periodic repair and replacement period for equipment installed in the works, the periodic repair period for other components of the works as stipulated in the design, as well as the provisions related to the depreciation period of fixed assets in relevant technical standards and regulations.

2. The actual duration of use of works (actual life) is the actual period during which the work is used from the time it is put into operation, ensuring safety and functionality requirements.

The actual duration of use of road works differs from the design duration of use due to factors such as the condition of exploitation and use of road works, traffic volume, load weight of vehicles participating in traffic affecting the works, parts of road works different from the design; sudden causes leading to damage appearing during the operational period; results of management and maintenance activities of the works, components of the works, and equipment installed in the works.

3. In cases where the actual life of the works is shorter than the design life, the owner or manager/user of the works must organize inspections, evaluations, and quality testing (if necessary) to determine the reasons for reduced life and take measures to repair and rectify to ensure the safety of the works when in use.

Article 13. Cases requiring monitoring of road infrastructure structures; organizing conditions for evaluating the safety of road works; list of works that must be accepted and commented on by authorized agencies regarding the safety evaluation results

1. Cases requiring monitoring of road infrastructure structures during the operational period are specified in Appendix VI issued together with this Circular.

2. Organizing conditions for evaluating the safety of road works refers to organizations meeting the capacity requirements for construction inspection as stipulated by laws on construction.

3. The authority to accept and comment on the results of the safety evaluation of works as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 39 of Decree No. 06/2021/NĐ-CP.

4. The list of road works that must be reviewed and commented on by authorized agencies regarding the results of the safety evaluation of works is specified in Appendix VII issued together with this Circular.

PROCEDURES FOR CREATING AND TRANSFERRING DOCUMENTS:

HANDLING OF LOCATIONS WHERE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS OCCUR ON ROADS, LOCATIONS WITH POTENTIAL TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS ON ROADS

Article 14. Points where traffic accidents frequently occur on roads; points with potential for traffic accidents on roads; documents to identify points where traffic accidents frequently occur on roads, points with potential for traffic accidents on roads

1. Points, locations, sections of road where traffic accidents frequently occur on roads are the current state of road construction works where within a period of 12 months one of the following situations occurs:

a) Two traffic accidents on roads resulting in fatalities occur;

b) Three or more traffic accidents occur, including at least one accident resulting in a fatality;

c) Four or more traffic accidents occur, but only result in injuries.

2. Points, locations, sections of road with potential for traffic accidents on roads are the current state of road construction works where one of the following situations occurs:

a) Within a period of 12 months: five or more collisions occur or at least one traffic accident resulting in a fatality occurs, or fewer than four traffic accidents occur but only result in injuries;

b) The current state of road construction works, the current organization of traffic, and the surrounding environment of points with potential for traffic accidents contain factors that cause road traffic safety issues.

3. In cases where the number of traffic accidents specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article occurs, but after determining that the traffic accidents are not caused by the infrastructure of the road, they shall not be considered points where traffic accidents frequently occur or points with potential for traffic accidents.

4. Documents to identify points where traffic accidents frequently occur on roads and points with potential for traffic accidents on roads include: recommendations from public security agencies, organizations, and individuals regarding points where traffic accidents frequently occur and points with potential for traffic accidents on roads (if any); data on traffic accidents on roads: a statistical table of the number of traffic accidents on roads noting the route, number of accidents, losses, assessment of causes accompanied by preliminary solutions and a sketch map of the area, photographs of the area where traffic accidents frequently occur.

Article 15. Procedures for handling points where traffic accidents frequently occur on roads, points with potential for traffic accidents on roads

1. Road management agencies, managers, and users have the responsibility to compile according to criteria: the number of traffic accidents, the number of fatalities and injured persons due to traffic accidents; damage to infrastructure and vehicles participating in traffic; the situation of traffic order and safety on roads annually; receiving, checking, and processing information from traffic police forces along the route, organizations, and individuals (if any) about the traffic situation on roads; organizing inspections and evaluations of the site and comparing with the provisions of Article 14 of this Circular to establish files for handling points where traffic accidents frequently occur on roads, points with potential for traffic accidents on roads.

2. Managers and users of roads perform the following tasks to handle points where traffic accidents frequently occur on roads, points with potential for traffic accidents on roads:

a) Inspect the site, compare, and supplement the characteristics of the site: traffic conditions at intersections; traffic organization plans; check technical factors of road infrastructure such as visibility, horizontal curve radius, vertical curve radius, slope, roughness index, road surface friction, super-elevation slope, other technical factors; road safety zones; sketch diagrams, photograph the site; inspect, evaluate, determine traffic volume, vehicle composition, traffic conditions, and pedestrian conditions; weather and climate conditions and environmental factors affecting traffic safety and other necessary information;

b) Based on the collected site file, proceed to prepare a layout diagram showing the main features of the site: the section where the accident occurred, road signs and markings, traffic safety facilities, terrain on both sides of the road for analysis, evaluation of the situation, determination of the cause of traffic accidents;

c) Based on the results implemented in point a and b of this clause, the manager and user of the road propose measures to address points where traffic accidents frequently occur and points with potential for traffic accidents on roads, including determining the implementation schedule and completion time.

3. Handling points where traffic accidents frequently occur on roads:

b) People's Committees at all levels decide to organize the implementation of handling points where traffic accidents frequently occur on roads within their jurisdiction;

c) Enterprises entrusted by the State to manage, exploit, and use roads in accordance with point d of Clause 2 of this Circular have the responsibility to promptly handle points where traffic accidents frequently occur to ensure road traffic safety.

5. Road management agencies, managers, and users notify the results of handling points where traffic accidents frequently occur on roads, points with potential for traffic accidents on roads to organizations and individuals who made recommendations.

PART 4.

MANAGEMENT, OPERATION, EXPLOITATION OF ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE STRUCTURES; ROADS PATROL AND ROAD INSPECTION

Article 16. Documents for management, operation, exploitation of road infrastructure structures

1. Documents for management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road construction projects include:

a) Decision approving the project and feasibility study report for investment construction or economic-technical report for investment construction, technical design, construction drawing design; results of acceptance inspection work by competent authorities according to laws on construction, relevant acceptance inspection records related to the investment construction project and completion acceptance record of the construction project put into exploitation and use; handover record of the construction project; survey tasks, construction survey report; monitoring, measurement, quality inspection results of the construction project, structural load testing results (if any) during construction, list of equipment, spare parts, materials in reserve;

b) Construction drawings confirmed by the investor (with attached list) and changes in design during construction;

c) As-built drawings (with attached list of drawings); elevation marks, coordinates (if any); electronic storage files (if any);

d) Equipment and technological device files; user manuals, operation guides for devices, technology chains installed in the construction project (if any);

đ) Land compensation and clearance records for boundary stakes; land use right certificate for infrastructure facilities serving the management of road construction projects (if any); traffic safety zone stake system, road boundary stakes;

e) Traffic safety review and assessment documents;

g) Maintenance procedures; operation and exploitation procedures for construction projects;

h) Traffic organization documents; accident resolution documents for construction projects (if any);

i) Initial condition documents (condition "0") of bridge and tunnel construction projects (if any);

k) Road patrol logs, bridge and tunnel history files, straightened profile diagrams, updated and supplemented road database during management, operation, and exploitation; statistical reports on construction project exploitation conditions; video tapes, photographs documenting the condition of the construction project;

l) Violation handling records and documents concerning road safety zones, road transport infrastructure structures (if any);

m) Documents related to inspection, certification, monitoring, repair, and other works related to management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of construction projects (if any);

n) Vehicle counts on roads, ferry and pontoon bridge traffic volumes.

2. Responsibilities for establishing, providing, and receiving documents to serve exploitation and maintenance of road construction projects are as follows:

a) For newly constructed, renovated, upgraded, and expanded road construction projects, and road construction project repair projects, the investor shall organize the establishment and handover of documents specified in points a, b, c, d, đ, e, g, h, i, and point m of Clause 1 of this Article to the owner or manager of the construction project before putting the project into exploitation and use. At the time of handover, both parties must inspect and confirm the status of the handover documents and establish a handover document list;

b) For currently exploited road construction projects, the maintenance contractor and the road construction project management and operation contractor are responsible for establishing documents as specified in points k, l, and point n of Clause 1 of this Article. The owner or manager of the road construction project shall inspect the maintenance contractor and the road construction project management and operation contractor's performance of this task.

Article 17. Management, Operation, and Exploitation of Road Infrastructure Structures

The management, operation, and exploitation of road infrastructure structures shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 36, Article 37 of the Road Law, the Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Road Law, Article 77 of the Traffic Order and Safety Law on Roads, Decree No. 44/2024/NĐ-CP on the management and use of road infrastructure assets, and the following regulations:

1. The operation of lighting equipment, tunnel operation equipment, bridge lifting and lowering equipment, and rotating bridges must be conducted concurrently with the management and maintenance of road infrastructure structures.

2. Ferry terminal operations and floating bridge operations must be carried out according to the operational procedures of each ferry terminal and floating bridge and must be equipped with safety devices to ensure safety on rivers. In cases where river water levels rise beyond the limits specified in the operational procedures due to floods, storms, or strong winds, operations must be halted to ensure safety.

3. The use of traffic signs on roads to inform participants about changes in permitted speeds and other warnings must be implemented. Information on traffic signs may change when speed regulations are altered, when speed adjustments are necessary, and when there are changes affecting traffic order and safety.

4. For other devices attached to road works, equipment for managing, exploiting, and maintaining road infrastructure structures, their operation and exploitation must follow the operational procedures of these devices.

Article 18. Activities of Vehicle Weight Control Facilities on Roads

1. Vehicle weight control facilities on roads must operate continuously 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In cases where operations must be temporarily suspended due to force majeure, natural disasters, or damage, the facility's management and operation unit must immediately report this to the road management authority via a written report. The reporting time must not exceed one day from the moment of suspension.

2. Inspection results data must be connected and shared with the technical equipment system of the traffic police force for vehicle weight inspection.

3. Before the 25th of each month, the management and operation unit of the vehicle weight control facility must report to the road management authority on the results of vehicle weight control, including the number of vehicles inspected, the number of vehicles violating weight limits, and the percentage of violators relative to the total number of inspected vehicles.

Article 19. Road Patrols for Managing, Operating, Exploiting, and Maintaining Roads

Contractors responsible for the regular management and maintenance of operational road sections, or organizations and individuals assigned to perform such tasks, have the responsibility to organize road patrols to:

1. Implement road infrastructure structure management and protection work:

a) Timely detect and prevent organizations and individuals engaging in violations related to the management and use of road infrastructure structures, illegal connections to roads, unauthorized construction and installation of advertising signs, information promotional signs, political propaganda signs, and common infrastructure and technical infrastructure installations in violation of regulations;

b) Cooperate with those conducting patrol inspections as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 20 of this Circular to establish records confirming violations concerning the management, use, and protection of road infrastructure structures;

c) Summarize the situation of violations in protecting road infrastructure structures, the results of handling and rectifying violations, and the work of clearing violations and enforcing measures by local authorities, and propose solutions for the management and users of roads to address these issues.

2. Inspect and handle damages to road infrastructure structures:

a) Timely identify damages and signs of damage to road infrastructure structures and equipment installed within them; inspect and monitor the operational status of components and parts of the structures and equipment;

b) Promptly rectify damages that pose risks to traffic safety and structural safety in accordance with the standards for regular road maintenance and the terms of the contract;

c) Install temporary traffic signs, implement warning measures, and undertake other necessary actions for sections of the road that are damaged, flooded, or otherwise unsafe to ensure the safety of people and vehicles involved in traffic;

d) Promptly notify the managers and users of roads, and traffic participants of any damages or signs indicating non-compliance with safe usage conditions. If necessary, notify the traffic police force on the route to assist in traffic control.

3. Implement traffic safety assurance work:

a) Immediately notify the traffic police force on the route, the nearest public security agency, and the local government authority, rescue and emergency response organizations, and the managers and users of roads upon occurrence of a traffic accident;

b) Participate in handling traffic congestion, rescuing and responding to traffic accidents; provide temporary traffic guidance when necessary before the arrival of traffic police or road management authorities;

c) Protect the accident scene, assess damage to road infrastructure structures caused by accidents that break or damage guardrails, bridge railings, signposts, and bridges, and other situations causing damage to road infrastructure structures; require the driver of the vehicle to remain at the scene; report to the manager and user of the road; cooperate with the local government and the traffic police force on the route to establish a record confirming the damage as the basis for requesting compensation;

d) Monthly, quarterly, and annually, compile the number of traffic accidents on roads based on three criteria (number of accidents, number of fatalities, and number of injuries from traffic accidents), the location, and the route of traffic accidents; report to the manager and user of the road.

đ) Detecting existing issues in traffic organization, locations where road traffic accidents frequently occur, and locations with potential for road traffic accidents; proposing that the managers and users of roads handle these issues.

4. Recording patrol logs according to the provisions of Section I of Appendix VIII issued together with this Circular; preserving and transferring patrol logs to the managers and users of roads upon expiration of the contract or completion of the assigned maintenance tasks for road infrastructure assets.

5. The length of patrols and the number of patrols depend on the scale, technical grade of the road, volume of vehicles participating in traffic on the route, traffic order and safety conditions on the road, quality of road infrastructure, weather conditions throughout the year, and must be stipulated in the contract for the contractor to perform road maintenance work. The length of patrols is specified in Part III, Section I of Appendix VIII issued together with this Circular.

6. Situations where safety cannot be guaranteed or urgent tasks need to be performed temporarily exempt the contractor from conducting patrols, including:

a) Locations and sections of works where serious incidents have occurred causing damage, road blockages, and other cases where patrol personnel cannot safely move to perform their duties;

b) When patrol personnel are involved in rescue operations for road traffic accidents, search and rescue during natural disasters, resolving and mitigating incidents at worksites, fire and explosion incidents, and other force majeure situations.

Article 20. Patrols Serving Management, Operation, Exploitation, and Maintenance of Roadways

1. Content recorded in patrol logs, number of patrols conducted according to the provisions of Part II, Section II of Appendix VIII issued together with this Circular; equipment and tools for patrols according to the provisions of Part III of Appendix VIII issued together with this Circular.

2. Managers and users of roads are responsible for organizing patrols of roadways to carry out the following tasks:

a) Inspecting and supervising the implementation of management and maintenance activities of road infrastructure by contractors or organizations and individuals entrusted with managing and maintaining road works; patrol activities;

b) Promoting compliance with laws on the management and protection of road infrastructure; drafting violation reports regarding the management and use of road infrastructure; requiring organizations and individuals to cease violations of the Road Law and rectify consequences caused by such violations;

c) Upon receiving information about road traffic accidents, notifying traffic police forces along the route and local authorities nearest to the incident; participating in handling traffic congestion, rescue operations for road traffic accidents; providing temporary traffic guidance when necessary before the arrival of traffic police forces, and protecting accident scenes;

d) Receiving, monitoring, and processing complaints from contractors or organizations and individuals entrusted with managing and maintaining road works, individuals assigned to conduct patrols, and complaints from other organizations and individuals regarding violations in the management and use of road infrastructure; traffic organization and traffic order and safety.

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 21. Transitional Provisions

1. Contractors for regular maintenance continue to perform maintenance activities on road infrastructure according to contracts signed prior to the effectiveness of this Circular; in cases where bidding has been organized but contracts have not yet been signed before the effectiveness of this Circular, the parties involved shall negotiate to adjust the contracts to comply with the provisions of this Circular.

2. For road infrastructure projects already put into operation but without maintenance procedures, they must complete the establishment and approval of maintenance procedures by December 31, 2025, except for Class III projects and below and as provided in Article 8 of this Circular.

Article 22. Effectiveness.

1. This Circular shall take effect from January 1, 2025;

2. Abolish the following Circulars:

a) 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 December 24, 2010 of the Government on management and protection of road traffic infrastructure; Circular No. 35/2017/TT-BGTVT dated October 9, 2017 of the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 50/2015/TT-BGTVT dated September 23, 2015 of the Minister of Transport guiding 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 No. 13/2020/TT-BGTVT dated June 29, 2020 of the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing certain provisions 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 and Circular No. 35/2017/TT-BGTVT dated October 9, 2017 of the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing certain provisions 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 No. 39/2021/TT-BGTVT dated December 31, 2021 of the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing certain provisions 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;

b) Clause 1 of Circular No. 25/2024/TT-BGTVT dated June 28, 2024 amending and supplementing certain provisions 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;

c) Circular No. 37/2018/TT-BGTVT dated June 7, 2018 of the Minister of Transport stipulating the management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road works;

d) Circular No. 41/2021/TT-BGTVT dated December 31, 2021 of the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 37/2018/TT-BGTVT dated June 7, 2018 of the Minister of Transport stipulating the management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road works;

đ) Clause 4 of Circular No. 36/2020/TT-BGTVT dated December 24, 2020 of the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circulars stipulating periodic reporting systems in the field of roads;

e) Circular No. 04/2019/TT-BGTVT dated January 23, 2019 of the Minister of Transport stipulating patrol and inspection for the protection of road traffic infrastructure;

g) Circular No. 48/2019/TT-BGTVT dated December 17, 2019 of the Minister of Transport stipulating criteria for monitoring and accepting the results of maintenance of road traffic infrastructure assets based on quality performance and the application of maintenance forms for road traffic infrastructure assets;

h) Circular No. 12/2014/TT-BGTVT dated April 29, 2014 of the Minister of Transport stipulating the management, operation, and exploitation of rural road bridges;

i) Circular No. 32/2014/TT-BGTVT dated August 8, 2014 of the Minister of Transport stipulating the management, operation, and exploitation of rural roads;

k) Circular No. 26/2012/TT-BGTVT dated July 20, 2012 of the Minister of Transport stipulating the determination and handling of dangerous positions on operational roads;

l) Clauses: 1, 3, 6, 8, 11, 13, 14, and 16 of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BGTVT dated May 12, 2023 of the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circulars related to the management, exploitation, use, maintenance, and protection of roads;

m) Circular No. 90/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 31, 2014 of the Minister of Transport guiding certain contents on the management, exploitation, and maintenance of expressway works; Circular No. 45/2018/TT-BGTVT dated August 13, 2018 of the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 90/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 31, 2014 of the Minister of Transport guiding certain contents on the management, exploitation, and maintenance of expressway works; Circular No. 48/2023/TT-BGTVT dated December 31, 2023 of the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 90/2014/TT-BGTVT dated December 31, 2014 guiding certain contents on the management, exploitation, and maintenance of expressway works.

3. In cases where the regulatory documents cited in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, the amended, supplemented, or replacement documents shall apply.