Road from Hell ? 20Kms Between Kampot and Sihanoukville

[CEOCambodiaNews]

Cambodia News, (Preah Sihanouk Province): Due to much loud complaining by road users on Facebook, parts of the National Road No. 3, between Sihanoukville-Kampot at the point of Trapeang Ropov, have become infamous.
Some drivers from Veal Renh crossing into Kampot province have been surprised because the section of National Road No. 3 from Veal Renh near Trapeang Ropov bridge in Prek Pros village, Teuk Thla commune, Prey Nob district, Preah Sihanouk province is severely damaged and difficult to travel. However, this road, which is now full of potholes, underwent major renovation recently.

Citizens are angry at the state of the road, and road users request that professional officials, especially His Excellency the Minister of Public Works and Transport, come to inspect this stretch of national road, which is in urgent need of repairs (again). Currently, the journey from Veal Renh to Trapeang Ropov Bridge, a distance of 20 kilometers, takes about 2 hours ; whether cars or trucks, it is very difficult for anyone to drive.

The same source continued that during the dry months, people living along the road could not breathe because of all the dust from the roadworks. And now, after months of roadworks and inconvenience to the local people, in the wet season the road is a shambles and not good for use.

Therefore, [people ask that] the Ministry should send machinery and repair experts, so that people can at least use the road until the new construction begins next year.
At the same time, the people are saying that they hope that the Ministry will follow the request of the people, because in modern days, there should no longer be a major national public road like this "road from hell" in Cambodia.

[Chad Sexington]

This stretch of road has been “under renovation” for the last five years, with road crews resurfacing it continually (weekly at times, but at least monthly).
The problem is that “renovation” in this instance means spreading continuous 5cm thick layers of soil and gravel, with the occasional addition of a thin film of what should be bitumen, but I suspect it’s black paint sprayed over the compacted surface.
So many layers have been added that the road is probably one and a half metres taller, but it’s still basically a dirt road.
Bear in mind that this stretch of road did have a an excellent asphalt surface laid just in time for a big bicycle race (approx’ 5 years back) but soon after the race, the asphalt was torn up, and the many layered “shit sandwich” that is the current road was began.
During dry season, a grading machine routinely scrapes the potholed road surface, so that instead of motos having to navigate between the craters, they have the “luxury” of fishtailing about in the loose earth/gravel, and don’t forget the clouds of dust stirred up by the trucks and cars who can then thunder along the newly renovated road, reducing visibility to about three metres.
During rainy season there’s so many liquid mud filled potholes, that it makes The Somme look like a bowling green, and the “road crew” can regularly be seen (often in the rain) using plastic coffee cups to bail (some of) the water out of the potholes, shoveling in gravel and stamping the surface flat with their feet.
These repairs are usually on good for a day or two at best, but looking on the bright side, the road crew would appear to have jobs for life.

[Username Taken]

Hah! Precious snowflakes.
All the roads were like that back in the 90s.
Outside Phnom Penh, they were even worse.

[Chad Sexington]

Hah! Precious snowflakes.
All the roads were like that back in the 90s.
Outside Phnom Penh, they were even worse.

And you walked twenty miles to school and back every day, uphill in both directions

[Ghostwriter]

Just open a Chanel or Rolex outlet on the side of the road, that will lure some big players wandering in SUVs, they'll make a few moves to make vote the renovation of the road for these bad boys so they can come there to shop till they drop, problem solved...

Just gonna have to teach the kids how to cross a road when the traffic is between 20 and 420 Km/h, of course. No biggie ^^

[SlowJoe]

Hah! Precious snowflakes.
All the roads were like that back in the 90s.
Outside Phnom Penh, they were even worse.

I remember one of my driver's was telling me that to make the trip from Battambang (where he's from) to Phnom Penh used to take him 3 days, and he was only in his 40s when we employed him.

[Ot Mean Loi]

For those of us that were genuinely trying to travel Cambodia in the mid to late 90's, overland travel was a real challenge.

In 1998 or 1999, I took a truck load of 200 litre drums of 98 Octane petroleum from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap for use in a Rotax aircraft engine - two points - at that time there were no service stations as we know them today in Siem Reap - and the drums of 98 octane petroleum spirit were specially provided by PTT Cambodia. I made this trip in a Kamas 6 x 6 ex military truck and the journey took twelve (12) hours.

In 1999, during the wet season, it would take an intrepid overland traveler circa thirty (30) hours trying to get from Poi Pet to Siem Reap. It was a nightmare trip for those who undertook it. Almost as much time was spent pushing the vehicle you were supposed to be riding in as sitting in it. Also, in a number of sections of this journey you were literally travelling through very muddy fields in preference to the "road". The section in the Kralan district was notorious even in the dry season. Now, of course, it is one of the best roads in Cambodia regardless of season.

It is easy to forget that when UNTAC arrived, and for many years afterwards, most of the roads, bridges and culverts did not exist. And for those that genuinely do travel out in to the back blocks of Cambodia, you will still see plenty of remaining ex military metal "Bailey" bridging units still in use.

Forget the politics. Despite its many faults, Cambodia has come a very long way as far as national development goes in the past 30 years.

OML

[Doc67]

Kampot to Sihanoukville.

3 hours, $6.

[Kammekor]

For those of us that were genuinely trying to travel Cambodia in the mid to late 90's, overland travel was a real challenge.

In 1998 or 1999, I took a truck load of 200 litre drums of 98 Octane petroleum from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap for use in a Rotax aircraft engine - two points - at that time there were no service stations as we know them today in Siem Reap - and the drums of 98 octane petroleum spirit were specially provided by PTT Cambodia. I made this trip in a Kamas 6 x 6 ex military truck and the journey took twelve (12) hours.

In 1999, during the wet season, it would take an intrepid overland traveler circa thirty (30) hours trying to get from Poi Pet to Siem Reap. It was a nightmare trip for those who undertook it. Almost as much time was spent pushing the vehicle you were supposed to be riding in as sitting in it. Also, in a number of sections of this journey you were literally travelling through very muddy fields in preference to the "road". The section in the Kralan district was notorious even in the dry season. Now, of course, it is one of the best roads in Cambodia regardless of season.

It is easy to forget that when UNTAC arrived, and for many years afterwards, most of the roads, bridges and culverts did not exist. And for those that genuinely do travel out in to the back blocks of Cambodia, you will still see plenty of remaining ex military metal "Bailey" bridging units still in use.

Forget the politics. Despite its many faults, Cambodia has come a very long way as far as national development goes in the past 30 years.

OML

While this is true, it doesn't paint the whole picture. In 2005 (maybe 2006, but for sure well over de decade ago) I used to do the Sihanoukville-Kampot trip and the road was just fine. The problem is not the war has destroyed that road and it's never been repaired, the problem is maybe less than half of the budget allocated for roads like this is actually spent on construction keeping it under construction for ever.

[jaynewcastle]

I've got a taxi from Snooky to Kampot twice in Jan 2016 and Jan 2018, the road was perfectly fine then. It took about 90mins

Why did they dig it up ?