Road Update Mid Northern Laos

jimoi

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Nov 17, 2004
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Hwy 13 between Kasi and 30 km past Vang Vieng is in terrible condition. Lots of holes in the road and no signs of roadwork coming soon.

UPDATED 5 October: Hwy 13 between Kasi and now extending nearly 60 km south of Vang Vieng has deteriorated again. Houay Mo is in terrible condition and this looks like it's not going to get worked on for a while.


Hwy 13 between Nam Ming and Phou Khoum has several cleared landslides but it is down to single lane and when wet, muddy in some sections.

Pak Mong to Nong Khiaw is in worse condition after the rainy season. No real pot holes but the surface is very uneven and almost looks like the tarmac slid and bunched up. This is all the way along this road.

Mekong road from Vientiane to Pak Lay is in the worst condition so far that I've been riding it. There is a broken bridge and when the Mekong is up, the backflow to the canal makes it too high to cross, when I was there it was a bit less than 1.3 meters deep on the eastern side of the broken bridge. The bridge is ride worthy when the water levels drop. Along this road, there is a lot of washed out sections from the flooding and very technical areas. The turn to Pak Lay or Kasi signs have been removed and word from the police at the middle point on this road is that the road is fine but not passable by car.

Pak Lay to Xayboury. The first 50 km out are in horrible condition, lots of grooves in the dirt and lots of holes.

Below are photos of the road between Hongsa and Xayaboury. Report from a client(and photos by Craig Kirshner) were that the 99 km took 11 hours.
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DavidFL

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Jan 16, 2003
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jimoi wrote: Hwy 13 between Kasi and 30 km past Vang Vieng is in terrible condition. Lots of holes in the road and no signs of roadwork coming soon.

Hwy 13 between Nam Ming and Phou Khoum has several cleared landslides but it is down to single lane and when wet, muddy in some sections.

Pak Mong to Nong Khiaw is in worse condition after the rainy season. No real pot holes but the surface is very uneven and almost looks like the tarmac slid and bunched up. This is all the way along this road.
Jim
Thanks for the tip off - good stuff. It all sounds a bit like the Lao roads of old I knew - potholes joined by broken chunks of asphalt. You little beauty in the wet - you never how deep the potholes were.
Bring on your photos!
I should be over your way next week on the AT.