National Highway 4 (Cambodia)
National Highway 4 | |
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National Highway 4 in Chbar Mon in Phnom Penh. | |
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| Part of AH11 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Cambodia |
| Highway system | |
National Highway 4 or National Road No.4 (10004) (in Khmer ផ្លូវជាតិលេខ ៤) is one of the national highways of Cambodia. With a length of 230 km (140 mi),[1] it connects the capital of Phnom Penh with Sihanoukville in the south-west.[2] Sihanoukville is the only international sea port of Cambodia, making NH4 one of the country's most important highways. The road was built in the 1950s, coinciding with the construction of the port.[1]
The road was built especially for the transport of goods between the capital and the port, by heavy trucks and containers. Portions of NH4 were considered toll roads, with three stations to collect fees. All toll stations have now been removed, the entire road is now toll free.[3] It is also considered the most dangerous road in Cambodia due to the occurrence of several traffic accidents and limited management by authorities.[4] Furthermore, the road is congested and in need of maintenance.[5]
Description
The road begins at the junction of Pochentong Avenue and National Highway 3. The junction, located in western Phnom Penh near the Phnom Penh International Airport, is in the Sangkat Chaom Chau – Dangkor District. The road initially heads westerly then curves toward the south west.
After the first toll station, NH4 enters Kandal Province. It then crosses Kampong Speu, Koh Kong and Sihanoukville provinces. In the territory of Koh Kong, at Chamkar Luong, National Road 48 branches off west toward Koh Kong town and the Khmer-Thai border. The junction with NH3, which leads to Kampot to the east beyond to the Vietnamese border is in the territory of Sihanoukville, at Prey Nob District.
Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway
A 190-km long expressway parallel to highway 4 opened to the public on October 1, 2022[6] as Cambodia's first expressway that allows the travel time between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville to be halved from 6 hours.[7] The expressway, built through Chinese investment at a cost of $2 billion under a build-operate-transfer contract by China Road and Bridge Corporation, has two lanes in each direction, with a speed limit of 120 km/h (75 mph) for light vehicles, 100 km/h (62 mph) for two axle trucks and buses and 80 km/h (50 mph) for shipping container trucks with a minimum speed of 60 km/h (37 mph) for all vehicles. Toll fees range from 0.08 USD/km for passenger cars to 0.40 USD/km for trucks over 20 tons.[8] Usage of this expressway is limited to cars, buses, and trucks that weigh under 40 metric tons and measure under 5.2m. [9]
References
- ^ a b Discovering Sihanoukville Municipality, p. 665, in "Cambodia in the Early 21st Century", Phnom Penh, 2004, ISBN 2-9513524-0-9
- ^ "Welcome to Cambodia". Archived from the original on 2006-08-25.
- ^ Sokchea, Meas. "National Road 4 toll fees nixed | Phnom Penh Post". www.phnompenhpost.com.
- ^ Real Travel: Travel Guide for Sihanoukville Archived 2009-02-08 at the Wayback Machine, Link retrieved on 5th Feb 2009
- ^ "Cambodia breaks ground on $2bn China-funded expressway". Nikkei Asian Review.
- ^ "Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway opens to public on one-month trial - Khmer Times". 2022-09-27. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
- ^ Pisei, Hin. "Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville expressway on schedule". www.phnompenhpost.com. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
- ^ "Charges to use Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville expressway start today".
- ^ "Stay off capital-Sihanoukville expressway till October, drivers told". m.phnompenhpost.com. Retrieved 2022-09-30.