The Ministry of Construction has unveiled plans to widen a section of the tollway between Yangon and Mandalay after 14 people were killed in the deadliest accident on the highway linking the commercial capital and Nay Pyi Taw.
The decision follows the death of 14 passengers on an express bus that slid off the Pyinmana-Nap Pyi Taw bridge in heavy rain on May 12.
The section of the highway between Yangon and the capital would be widened from two lanes each way to three or four lanes, Ministry of Construction senior engineer U Kyi Zaw Myint told Mizzima on May 14.
U Kyi Zaw Myint could not say when the work would be completed.
“We will increase the width of the highway, lane by lane, year by year,” he said.
A Ministry of Home Affairs spokesperson said the decision aimed at improving safety and saving lives was made during a meeting between Home Affairs Minister Lieutenant-General KoKo and Construction Minister U Kyaw Lwin.
Traffic police say more than 360 people have been killed in accidents on Yangon-Nay Pyi Taw tollway since it opened in March 2009 and it has been dubbed the “death highway” by the media.
