In just over a month, a series of infrastructure projects at the gateway to Ho Chi Minh City will open up roads and bridges to help people conveniently celebrate Lunar New Year.
The southern bridge and road are rumbling towards the finish line.
"Has the Le Van Luong bridge opened to traffic yet? When will the Nguyen Van Linh - Nguyen Huu Tho intersection be completed? Just wait for that and this area will be "so good"," said Mr. TL, a technology car driver, chatting with a passenger living in Nha Be District (HCMC).
Nguyen Van Linh - Nguyen Huu Tho underpass opens to traffic (District 7)
Traffic experts say: Ho Chi Minh City has the advantage of many gateways opening up connections in many directions to gather resources. Goods and resources from all over can circulate to and from the city through the gateways. Thanks to this, Ho Chi Minh City is considered the nucleus of the southern key economic region. Once the backbone road network and inter-regional connections are completed, inner-city traffic will be more open, and policies on population dispersion and multi-center urban construction will be easier to implement.
According to Mr. TL, for nearly a year since Nha Be District simultaneously organized the construction of many large projects, drivers have been very "afraid" to pick up passengers in the southern area. Partly because the route is longer in both directions, partly because the roads are always in a state of traffic jams, constantly congested from morning to night. If in the past, drivers picking up passengers from Nha Be to the city center were only worried about getting stuck in the nearly 200m stretch of road extending from the bottleneck Nguyen Huu Tho - Kenh Te bridge, now the entire Rach Dia 2 bridge, Nguyen Huu Tho, the U-turn section through the underpass branch that has been opened to traffic... are endless yellow dots connecting red sections showing the level of congestion on the map.
Partly due to traffic restrictions, despite its favorable location, many real estate "giants" are aiming to develop many high-end urban areas, but the economy in the southern part of Ho Chi Minh City has not been able to break through to match its potential. However, according to data from the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS), after a long period of stagnation, real estate in the southern part of Ho Chi Minh City is considered an investment destination in the second half of 2024 and early 2025. One of the strong supports is a series of trillion-dollar projects all scheduled to be completed in the last month of the year.
For example, after Rach Dia bridge was completed and opened to traffic on November 28, Phuoc Long bridge connecting Nha Be district and District 7 is also urgently completing the final stages, expected to be inaugurated on December 31. These two "hundred billion" bridges are likened to two arms connecting District 7 and Nha Be district. In particular, Rach Dia bridge at the beginning of Le Van Luong street has created a smooth route connecting from Nguyen Van Linh to Can Giuoc - Long An, reducing traffic load on Nguyen Huu Tho street; while Phuoc Long bridge across Phu Xuan canal has a particularly important meaning, contributing to meeting traffic demand and operating load on Pham Huu Lau street, as well as the two main roads Huynh Tan Phat and Nguyen Huu Tho.
Mr. Vo Phan Le Nguyen, Vice Chairman of Nha Be District People's Committee, said that Long Kieng and Rach Dia bridges are two of the four key bridges on Le Van Luong Street that people have been waiting for for a long time. Nha Be District is continuing to complete the site clearance compensation (GPMB) to build Rach Tom and Rach Doi bridges, creating a smooth connection between Long An and Nha Be as well as with the Southern Key Economic Zone. The bridges have been opened to traffic, helping the western area of Phuoc Kien commune become more open, promoting local socio-economic development.
In addition, the two most anticipated key traffic projects in the southern region, the Nguyen Van Linh - Nguyen Huu Tho intersection and the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway, are also expected to open to traffic by the end of this year. Specifically, the remaining HC1 tunnel branch of the Nguyen Van Linh - Nguyen Huu Tho intersection project has been basically completed, with only finishing work inside the tunnel and handling transitional slabs remaining. Contractors are striving to complete the entire project by December 31.
Meanwhile, the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway, the largest expressway project in the South with a total adjusted investment (phase 1) of more than VND 31,320 billion, passing through Can Gio, Nha Be and Binh Chanh districts, was also announced by the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) as striving to open 18.8 km of the section from the National Highway 1 intersection to Nguyen Van Tao intersection (Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City) before the Lunar New Year 2025. It is expected that a continuous 22 km section west of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway will be opened to traffic before the New Year.
"The bridge and road construction projects not only improve the current traffic situation, completely change the urban landscape, but also lay the foundation for the southern area of Ho Chi Minh City to enter a new development cycle, making economic and social breakthroughs," the leader of Nha Be District People's Committee expected.
East and west "running progress"
According to Mr. Luong Minh Phuc, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board (TCIP), the opening of the Rach Dia Bridge construction project in Nha Be District is also the beginning of 60 peak days and nights of the city's transport sector focusing on accelerating construction progress and disbursement progress to complete about 12 packages and projects to serve the people before the Lunar New Year 2025.
Rach Dia Bridge (Nha Be District) has recently been opened to traffic.
In particular, the traffic clearance projects at the gateway area of Tan Son Nhat airport in the northwest of the city are being eagerly awaited by the people to "free" the busiest airport in the country from the congestion that has lasted for many years. Specifically, Tan Ky Tan Quy bridge (Binh Tan district) was restarted on June 21 with the goal of opening to traffic on December 31, which will be synchronized with Tan Ky Tan Quy road, which is being upgraded and expanded, forming a smooth traffic axis from National Highway 1A to the city center and Tan Son Nhat International Airport. This is one of 10 key projects to reduce congestion at the gateway area of the airport. Currently, Tan Ky Tan Quy road from Binh Long to Nuoc Den canal has been transformed after being widened 3 times (from 8-10 m of road surface to 30 m). People were extremely excited to see the completed road paved, painted with road markings, installed with median strips, and paved sidewalks on both sides, ready for the scheduled opening on December 30. However, the Tan Ky Tan Quy bridge had to be adjusted to a later date of completion until January 2025 due to land acquisition issues.
Nearby, the project to expand the Tran Quoc Hoan - Cong Hoa road (Tan Binh District) was announced by the investor to have "failed" to open the entire route to traffic on December 31. The reason was that the speed of site clearance on the local side did not meet the requirements. Similarly, the project to expand Hoang Hoa Tham Street with a total investment of nearly 300 billion VND, and Ba Hom Bridge (Binh Tan District) with a total investment of more than 374 billion VND, is also unlikely to be completed before Tet, due to the slow progress of site handover on the local side not meeting the requirements.
At the northwest gateway, there is also a project that people are looking forward to a lot, which is the expansion of Duong Quang Ham Street (Go Vap District). The project has a total capital of 2,300 billion VND, the goal is to open to traffic by the end of the year. Every week, traveling through this area to go home in Cu Chi District, Mr. Tran Hoai Nam (residing in Go Vap District) said that on the road from Phan Van Tri connecting to Quang Trung to Cu Chi, the section through Duong Quang Ham is often congested for about 200 - 300 m because this area "converges" many shops, churches, and warehouses of delivery companies... The demand for travel is high, the road is narrow but there are many trucks, plus the flow of cars often stopping, parking to buy things, going in/out from many directions, so it can easily become chaotic. "There are times when the traffic lights are broken, people around have to run out to regulate but still cannot solve the serious congestion. Every time you get out of one section, another section is jammed", Mr. Nam shared.
According to the investor, the progress of the Duong Quang Ham Street expansion project is not as expected due to the relocation and dismantling of bunkers from the Ministry of National Defense; handover of land from Go Vap District and the recovery of electricity poles from the electricity industry. The goal of completing the project within the year is difficult to achieve, but the units are coordinating and making maximum efforts to complete the project before Tet, serving the people.
To the east of the city, Ba Dat bridge and Giong Ong To 2 bridge of An Phu intersection, Luong Dinh Cua street (section from Nguyen Hoang to Tran Nao intersection) ... are all key projects that are being completed before the new year to pave the way for people to return to their hometowns or go on spring trips via the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway. However, this progress is also facing significant challenges due to the slow progress of land acquisition and clearance in Thu Duc City.
"Super" project to open up gateways is underway
Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport also held a consultation conference on the Pre-Feasibility Study Report of existing road infrastructure projects applying BOT contracts according to Resolution No. 98 of the National Assembly on piloting special mechanisms and policies for the development of Ho Chi Minh City.
To limit the spread of investment affecting the social costs of people and businesses, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has selected a number of projects that fully meet the criteria to apply this special mechanism. 5 projects to be implemented from now until 2028 include: Upgrading and expanding National Highway 13 (from Binh Trieu Bridge to Binh Duong Provincial Border); upgrading and expanding National Highway 1 (from Kinh Duong Vuong Street to Long An Provincial Border); renovating and upgrading National Highway 22 (from An Suong Intersection to Ring Road 3); upgrading the North-South axis road, from Nguyen Van Linh Street to Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway; building Binh Tien Bridge and Road (from Pham Van Chi Street to Nguyen Van Linh Street).
In brief, these are all projects to expand the main roads connecting Ho Chi Minh City with neighboring provinces and cities through the eastern, southern and northern gateways. In particular, Highway 13 is the main route connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the southeastern provinces, but has suffered terrible congestion, waiting for the expansion project for more than 2 decades without finding a way out.
According to the initial report of the project's pre-feasibility study, this gateway axis is 5.95 km long (from Binh Trieu bridge to the border of Binh Duong province) and is currently only 19 - 26 m wide, with 10 intersections (2 grade-separated intersections and 8 level intersections) that will be oriented to be built into a high-speed route, with a width of 60 m, and at the same time, a 3.7 km long elevated road will be built from Binh Trieu intersection to Binh Phuoc intersection. After completion (expected in 2030), L13 will become a key route connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the eastern and Central Highlands provinces, enhancing trade connections and creating economic breakthroughs for the whole region.
Similarly, the BOT project of Nguyen Huu Tho road axis from Nguyen Van Linh to Nha Be district, and the BOT project of Binh Tien bridge connecting from district 6 to Nguyen Van Linh intersection (the starting point of National Highway 50 at present) are both located at the southern gateway of the city. Thus, in the future, there will be 2 gateway roads of the city connecting to the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway, which are the new North - South axis and Binh Tien bridge. Next year, the city will start construction of Nguyen Khoi bridge and road, which is also the 3rd North - South axis connecting the southern area of the city with the central area. It can be seen that in general, the traffic system in the southern area of the city will be completed one more step.
Director of the Department of Transport Tran Quang Lam affirmed that the Department of Transport's viewpoint is not to wait. Any project that is favorable and can be done soon will be implemented immediately. For example, the project to upgrade the North-South axis road, the section from Nguyen Van Linh Street to Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway is currently favorable with available land, only needing an investor to start construction next year.
According to Thanhnien
Source: https://www.novaland.com.vn/tin-tuc-1/thong-tin-thi-truong/chay-dua-khoi-thong-cua-ngo-tphcm-truoc-tet
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