HCMC completes several modern traffic projects to serve citizens

In the last few months, Ho Chi Minh City ((HCMC) has wrapped up many essential ground and water traffic projects to better serve transport demands of its residents.

To Ky Street in Hoc Mon District after the expansion project. (Photo: SGGP)
To Ky Street in Hoc Mon District after the expansion project. (Photo: SGGP)

Recently, on July 15, Tunnel N2 of An Suong Intersection officially opened to public traffic, making it the first 3-level intersection in the Northwest of HCMC.

The 2-lane Tunnel N2, with a length of 385m and a width of 9m, is for vehicles from Cu Chi District to downtown. It was finished after only 5 months, which was a real challenge in such a dense traffic volume area.

Director of the project’s Management Board Luong Minh Phuc shared that his team had to exploit specific large-sized devices to ensure the deadline and safety at the same time.

Before that, in March 2018, the 445-meter Tunnel N1 for vehicles from downtown to Cu Chi District came into operation.

Among the 3 levels of An Suong Intersection, the lowest is for traffic between Truong Chinh Street and National Way No.22 while the middle level has traffic lights for vehicles entering the roundabout in order to turn left or right, and the highest is an overpass for traffic towards National Way No.1.

Thanks to this design, congestions as well as accidents have reduced significantly.

In the suburban district of Hoc Mon, on October 3, To Ky Street (the part from Dang Thuc Vinh Street to Bau T-junction) also opened to public traffic after completing its expansion project.

This is one of the key transport construction projects to tackle both congestion and urban flooding, and to renovate traffic infrastructure for the general beautiful image of HCMC.

Before expansion, To Ky Street was 7 meters wide and could accommodate small vans or two-wheel vehicles. The construction project allows the street to have 4 lanes with a width of 2.4km in total, along with a new underground sewage system, the cleaning of Hoc Mon Channel for better sewage flow, a full installation of traffic sign and light systems, and new tree planting.

Turning to District 12, residents there is saying goodbye to their longtime ferry terminal connecting to Go Vap District as the newly finished An Phu Dong Iron Bridge is to open to public traffic in a few more days.

Beginning construction on February 2, 2020, the Bailey-type bridge has 8 spans, with a length of 240m and a width of 12.5m. The total investment in this project reaches VND79.6 billion (approx. US$3.4 million).

The bridge now has 2 lanes and can accommodate two-wheeled vehicles as well as trucks under 5 tonnes, greatly reducing their journey from northeast of District 12 to the downtown. This will become a factor to boost local economy.

Other traffic infrastructure constructions that have been finished include the expansion of Tran Van Giau Street (the part from Provincial Way No.10 to Nguyen Cuu Phu Street) to address frequent congestions and increase traffic capacity from HCMC to Long An Province as well as existing industrial parks in the west of the city.

Another key one is the second stage of the project to improve water quality in HCMC, which installs pumps to transfer sewage from Dong Dieu Pump Station to Binh Hung Sewage Treatment. These new machines will increase the process capacity from 192,000m3 per day to 640,000m3 per day, along with the building of a new 3.6-kilometer foul sewer system.

The project to construct stone embankment along the left bank of Saigon River, located in Thao Dien Ward of District 2, also finished on July 25 this year. It is to tackle landslides and boost the overall beauty of HCMC. In addition, the construction is supposed to allow more water transport in order to share the burden with ground traffic volume inside the city.

Lastly, the building project of a 120-meter stone embankment along Ong Lon Channel, costing VND25,8 billion ($1.1million), was completed this August. When in operation, it can protect residential facilities near the river from landslides and improve the general beauty of the area. Besides, the project creates a quay for water vehicles to serve state management tasks. It also cleans the area around the new quay with a depth of 3.3m and a surface area of 10x11m.

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