Kim Dong Street is fenced 26 meters wide, restricting certain types of vehicles from entering.

TPO - Regarding the large-scale, long-distance fence on Kim Dong Street to construct the Ring Road 2.5 underpass without any notification of traffic flow, on May 16, the Hanoi Department of Transport Traffic Inspectorate worked with the investor and general contractor to come up with a plan to ensure traffic.

At the headquarters of the Hoang Mai Traffic Inspection Team, Hanoi Department of Transport Inspectorate, the representative of the investor of the Ring Road 2.5 underpass project, Mr. Do Duc Hung, Hanoi Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board (Traffic Board) said that the fence on Kim Dong Street is currently being erected to implement phase 4 of the project. The construction items (work) are the open tunnel segments and the access road to and from the tunnel on Kim Dong Street.

According to Mr. Hung, the general contractor and joint contractors are currently fencing off part of Kim Dong Street according to the construction permit attached to the approval of traffic diversion plan No. 91 dated March 21, 2024 of the Hanoi Department of Transport.

Kim Dong Street is fenced 26 meters wide, restricting certain types of vehicles from entering photo 1

Representatives of the investor and the contractor consortium work at the Hoang Mai Traffic Police headquarters.

Currently, the investor is asking the contractor to fence off part of Kim Dong Street and monitor traffic and vehicles for a period of time. If there are any problems, there will be a plan to recommend to the authorities to adjust the instructions and organize traffic accordingly.

Regarding the construction fence on Kim Dong Street, Mr. Ho Duc Phuc, Cienco 4 Group Joint Stock Corporation (Cienco 4) - representative of the General Contractor and the consortium of project contractors, said that Kim Dong Street has a cross-section of 10 meters on each side. After the construction units cut the sidewalk to widen it, the total cross-section width of Kim Dong Street will be 40 meters.

“To implement the project here, the investor must erect a fence with a width of 26 meters. After erecting the fence and completing the construction of Kim Dong Street, the remaining space for traffic on each side is 7 meters (a total of 17 meters including the length), the length of the fence in phase 4 is more than 220 meters (from Giai Phong intersection inwards). The time to erect the fence according to the permit granted by the Hanoi Department of Transport is until December 31, 2024,” said Mr. Phuc.

At the current scene, Mr. Phuc said that the contractor is erecting a fence on one side of the road - in the direction of Giai Phong - Kim Dong with a width of 14 meters and a length of more than 220 meters; the remaining road for vehicles to circulate is 7 meters (the sidewalk has been cut and expanded); in the direction of Kim Dong - Giai Phong, the contractors have not erected a fence and temporary vehicles are still moving within the licensed construction site.

Solutions needed to reduce traffic congestion when "fencing off" Kim Dong Street

Regarding the traffic organization plan after the contractor erected the fence within the announced scope, both the investor's representative and the contractor's representative said that the units still implemented according to the license and traffic diversion plan No. 338 dated April 5, 2024 regarding allowing vehicles to turn around at the points where the median strip was opened on Giai Phong Street. On Kim Dong Street, there was no separate traffic diversion plan or announcement.

Kim Dong Street is fenced 26 meters wide, restricting certain types of vehicles from entering photo 2

Construction fences are appearing on Kim Dong Street.

Mr. Ngo Quoc Cuong, Head of the Hoang Mai Traffic Inspection Team, Hanoi Department of Transport (chairing the meeting) said that in order to ensure traffic when fencing off the road for long-term project construction, according to the principle when implementing the road fencing, the investor and contractor must coordinate with relevant traffic assurance units to discuss, agree, and propose a plan to notify, guide, and organize traffic separately for the area where the fence appears. This not only helps people grasp and proactively travel, but also helps authorities easily regulate and organize traffic accordingly.

According to Mr. Cuong, currently, the implementation of traffic diversion according to plan No. 338 dated April 5, 2024 mainly serves Giai Phong Street, in which passenger vehicles are regulated to allow vehicles with less than 29 seats to turn around at the Kim Dong - Giai Phong intersection to reduce traffic into Kim Dong Street. On Kim Dong Street, although the roadway is narrowed by fences, there is no plan to organize and guide traffic and travel.

Based on the above facts, Mr. Cuong said that investors and contractors need to fence the road within the licensed area, ensure safety and install full signs and directions according to regulations. At the same time, it is necessary to limit some types of vehicles by hour or during the day such as trucks, passenger cars, taxis, and contract vehicles to reduce the risk of congestion.

The Hoang Mai Traffic Police Team will report to the Hanoi Department of Transport Inspectorate and organize an interdisciplinary meeting to come up with a plan to regulate, guide, and organize traffic appropriately for Kim Dong Street and the Giai Phong - Kim Dong intersection. Then, the investor and contractor will be required to comply with this agreement.