The North-South Express Highway (NSEH) Project is a critical thoroughfare in central Vietnam that will link over 32 cities from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh. It is Vietnam’s most important transportation corridor, and road contractor Son Hai is responsible for paving the highway and slipforming a 55km (34 mile) safety barrier wall.
This is the first time a slipform machine has poured a barrier wall in Vietnam, and Son Hai purchased a new Power Curber 5700-D for the ongoing project.
Previously, most barrier walls in Vietnam were precast. With the 5700-D, Son Hai has poured 500m (1/3 mile) daily with three rotating shifts of 12-person crews.
Slipforming has increased the quality and speed of production for Son Hai. They have guaranteed job completion by September 2023, three months ahead of schedule.
During a job site visit from Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister of Vietnam, Son Hai introduced the country’s leader to the Power Curber 5700-D. The contractor requested that the Road Construction Ministry and Prime Minister allow all highway barrier walls to be poured by machine rather than by hand.
Son Hai’s first Power Curber was an 8700, a machine that was manufactured over 20 years ago. The Power Curber 8700 was a multipurpose slipform machine designed for use with three or four tracks. It was used for various offset and paving applications, similar to the Power Curber 7700 currently in production.
Son Hai’s 8700 still operates daily, and Power Curbers still provides product support and parts for the machine.
