BY-PASS ROADS MU GIA PASS AREA LAOS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T01471R001500010001-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 9, 2007
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: February 16, 1966
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2007/11/09: CIA-RDP80TO1471 R001500010001-5
NPIC/CSD 95/66
16 FEBRUARY 19b6
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BY-PASS ROADS
MU GIA PASS AREA, LAOS
GROUP I
Excluded from automatic
downgrading and
declassification
THE TREE COVER IN THE AREA .OF THE CHOKE POINT WAS ALSO DESTROYED,
RENDERING ROUTE 12 UNSERVICEABLE DURING THE RAINY SEASON BECAUSE
THE MU GIA PASS IS LOCATED ON THE NORTH VIETNAM/LAOS BORDER,
APPROXIMATELY SIXTY NM SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF VINH, NORTH VIETNAM.
THE MU GIA PASS CHOKE POINT IS LOCATED ON ROUTE 12 FIVE NM
SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF THE NORTH VIETNAM/LAOS BORDER.
3. BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
THE FIRST AIR STRIKES AGAINST THE MU GIA PASS CHOKE POINT
WERE CONDUCTED IN FEBRUARY 1905, AND WERE CONCENTRATED IN THE
AREA WHERE ROUTE 12 HAS SEVERAL SWITCHBACKS. THE SUMMIT OF THE
PASS LIES FURTHER NORTH OF THIS AREA.
UNTIL THE BY-PASSES WERE CONSTRUCTED AROUND THE MU GIA
PASS CHOKE POINT, THIS SEGMENT OF A MAJOR INFILTRATION ROUTE
INTO LAOS WAS HIGHLY VULNERABLE TO INTERDICTION BY AIR STRIKES.
''1. SIGNIFICANCE:
THIS BRIEFING BOARD REVEALS THE CURRENT ALIGNMENT OF
THREE BY-PASSES AROUND A PORTION OF ROUTE 12 AND THE MU GIA
PASS CHOKE POINT IN LAOS.
2. LOCATION:
only for the reporting period as indicated by the date of issue.
These notes have been prepared for briefing purposes only and should not be used for detailed analytical work.
Their use should be restricted to the particular briefing board(s) they were prepared for and must be considered valid
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NPIC/CSD 95/66
10 FEBRUARY 1966
PAGE 2 OF [/
OF THE RESULTING LANDSLIDES AND WASHOUTS. DURING THE DRY
SEASON, ROUTE 12 SERVICEABILITY WAS MAINTAINED BY EXTENSIVE
REPAIR ACTIVITIES THAT WERE CARRIED OUT AFTER EACH AIR STRIKE.
BY THE END OF 1965 ONLY SMALL SECTIONS OF THE ORIGINAL
ALIGNMENT OF ROUTE 12 THROUGH THE CHOKE POINT REMAINED
SERVICEABLE BECAUSE OF THE EXTENSIVE CRATERING, FILLING OPERATIONS,
LANDSLIDES, AND SMALL BY-PASSES THAT WERE CONSTRUCTED AROUND
THE DAMAGED AREAS.
THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPHY THAT INDICATED TIIE PASS WAS CLOSED
AND IN DISUSE DURING THE RAINY SEASON WAS OBTAINED IN JULY 1965.
, FIRST 25X1
REVEALED TRACK ACTIVITY THROUGH THE CHOKE POINT AS THE RAINY
SEASON ENDED. (COLLATERAL SOURCES HAD REPORTED NO VEHICLES
THROUGH THIS AREA FROM LATE MARCH 1965 TO MID-NOVEMBER 1965.)
4. BY-PASS ROUTES:
THE FIRST BY-PASS ROAD, NOW DESIGNATED ROUTE 12/23 BY-PASS,
WAS OBSERVED ON TROJAN HORSE
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THIS BY-PASS STARTS 0.5 NM SOUTH 25X1
OF THE NORTH VIETNAM/LAOS BORDER, THEN EXTENDS ROUGHLY PARALLEL
TO AND EAST OF ROUTE 12, AND CONNECTS WITH ROUTE 23 JUST SOUTH
OF THE JUNCTION OF ROUTES 12 AND 23. AVAILABLE PHOTOGRAPHY
INDICATES THE BY-PASS IS A SINGLE LANE, NATURAL SURFACE, DRY-
WEATHER ROAD, ALTHOUGH THE FULL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BY-PASS
These notes have been prepared for briefing purposes only and should not be used for detailed.onalytical work.
Their use should be restricted to the particular briefing board(s) they were prepared for and must be considered valid
only for the reporting period as indicated by the dote of issue.
Approved For Release 2007/11/09: CIA-RDP80TO1471 R001500010001-5 .'Tin '` -
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NPIC/CSD 95/66
1b FEBRUARY 1966
PAGE 3 OF
COULD NOT BE ASCERTAINED BECAUSE OF 1'IiE VERY HEAVY TREE COVER
THAT WAS UNDISTURBED IN THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE. IT IS ALSO
NOTED TI-IAT INHERE THE BY-PASS JOINS ROUTE 23, SEVERAL ACCESS
ROADS WERE CONSTRUCTED TO LIMIT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AIR
STRIKES AT TILE JUNCTION.
TUE SECOND BY-PASS ROAD, NOW DESIGNATED ROUTE 12/23
BY-PASS LAST, WIAS IMAGED ON TROJAN HORSE
AND TROJAN HORSE
ROUTE EXTENDS FROM ROUTE 12/23 BY-PASS FROM A POINT LOCATED
APPROXIMATELY FOUR NM SOUTH OF THE JUNCTION OF ROUTE 12 AND
ROUTE 12/23 BY-PASS, THEN EXTENDS EASTWARD BEYOND ROUTE 12/23
BY-PASS, THEN SOUTH AND SOU'l1iWEST TO ROUTE 23, 6.5 NNI SOUTH OF
TUE- JUNCTION OF ROUTES 12 AND 23. THE SECOND BY-PASS AVOIDS
TIE INTERDICTION POINTS ON ROUTE 23 SOUTH OF THE JUNCTION OF
ROUTES 12 AND 23. SEVERAL ACCESS ROADS TO ROUTE 23 WERE CONSTRUCTED
TO REDUCE TILE EFFECTIVENESS OF AIR STRIKES AT THE JUNCTION. THE
SECOND BY-PASS IS A SINGLE LANE, NATURAL SURFACE, DRY WEATHER
ROAD TEAT HAS UTILIZED THE NATURAL TREE COVER AND TERRAIN
EXTENSIVELY FOR EASE OF CONSTRUCTION AND FOR CAMOUFLAGE.
THE THIRD BY-PASS (POSSIBLY A ROAD) WAS OBSERVED ON
THIS BY-PASS, NOW DESIGNATED25X1
ROUTE 12 BY-PASS WEST, EXTENDS FROM ROUTE 12, JUST WEST OF THE
These notes have been prepared for briefing purposes only and should not be used for detailed analytical work.
Their use should be restricted to the particular briefing board(s) they were prepared for and must be considered valid
only for the reporting period as indicated by the date of issue.
JHAL
Approved For Release 2007/11/09: CIA-RDP80TO1471 R001500010001-5
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NPIC/CSD 95/66
16 FEBRUARY 1966
PAGE OF q
JUNCTION OF ROUTES 12 AND 23, NORTI-i TO THE VICINITY OF THE
MU GIA PASS CHOKE POINT. TILE BY-PASS CONSISTS OF A CLEARING
OPERATION ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF THE KARST RIDGE LINE, AND
WAS CONSIDERED STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION ON THE DATE OF THE
PHOTOGRAPHY. PHOTOGRAPHY INDICATED THAT THIS BY-PASS POSSIBLY
CONNECTS WITH ROUTE 12 APPROXIMATELY 0.S NM NORTH OF THE
CHOKE POINT, BUT THE QUALITY OF PHOTOGRAPHY PRECLUDED ACCURATE
ANALYSIS.
5. UNIDENTIFIED BY-PASS:
IN NOVEMBER 1965, COLLATERAL REPORTS INDICATED THAT THERE
WAS ANOTHER BY-PASS ROUTE AROUND' ROUTE 12 AND THE CHOKE POINT.
THIS ROUTE REPORTEDLY STARTED ON ROUTE 12 NEAR THE NORTH
VIETNAM/LAOS BORDER (AND POSSIBLY IN NORTH VIETNAM), THEN
EXTENDED SOUTHEAST TO BAN XONNE (UTM WE8846), THEN SOUTH AND
WEST TO BAN PIIA NOP (UTM iVL8039) WHERE THE BY-PASS JOINED
ROUTE 23.,PHOTOGRAPHY OF TIIE AREA OF THE REPORTED BY-PASS
REVEALED NO TRACK ACTIVITY OR OTHER EVIDENCE THAT A MOTORABLE
BY-PASS EXISTED IN THIS AREA. (AMS SERIES L7012, SHEET 6163 I,
SHOWS A TRAIL LEADING NORT'HWEST' AND SOUTH OF BAN XONNE ALONG
THE GENERAL ALIGNMENT OF TILE REPORTED BY-PASS) .
These notes have been prepared for briefing purposes only and should not be used for detailed analytical work.
Their use should be restricted to the particular briefing board(s) they were prepared for and must be considered valid
only for the reporting period as indicated by the date of issue.
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Approved For Release 2007/11/09: CIA-RDP80TO1471 R001500010001-5 '3 T; ~, " 7~'M7T ' h;
 Approved For Release 2007/11/09: CIA-RDP80T01471 R001500010001-5
NPIC/CSD 95/66
16 FEBRUARY 1966
PREPARED BY: NPIC/CSll
DISTRIBUTION:
COPY 1 -
2 -
:S -
5 -
7 -
10 -
only for the reporting period as indicated by the date of issue.
DIRECTOR, \PIC
CI-IIEF, REF/CSll/LB UNIT
CIIIEF, RAS/CSll
DIA
TCO/
'I'CO/
IAD
I'AG
NS1,/R D
These notes have been prepared for briefing purposes only and should not be used for detailed analytical :work.
Their use should be restricted to the particular briefing board(s) they were prepared for and must be considered valid
C 0 N J.Pj E J
Approved For Release 2007/11/09: CIA-RDP80T01471 R001500010001-5
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 - 1-:4A
BAN SENG PHAN
_ I- -32-
BYPASS 1 j _. 11 ~ Is I,
BY-PASS 2
--4,-
-40-
ROUTE 12/23 BY-PASS (BY-PASS 1)
ROUTE 12/23 BY-PASS EAST (BY-PASS 2)
ROUTE 12 BY-PASS WEST (BY-PASS 3)
MU GIA CHOKE POINT
Approved For Release 2007/11/09: CIA-RDP80TO1471 R001500010001-5
CONFIDENTIAL
G.. ~ G, ?'.'~G~ ' T--sly. . .. .
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6 , 4 62 63 65 66
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Approved For Release 2007/11/09: CIA-RDP80TO1471 R001500010001-5
W. M~MUMIAM 1
BY-PAS
MU GIA PA
ROADS
AREA, LAOS