The HCM City People’s Committee has instructed the Department of Transport to complete three key transportation projects by the end of this year to reduce city traffic jams.

Construction site at Thu Thiem Tunnel, one of the three key projects that have been instructed to be completed by the city authorities.

The project to expand the Nam Ky Khoi Nghia–Nguyen Van Troi route had finished the section from Cong Ly Bridge to Dien Bien Phu Street, Thang said.

The stretch from Truong Son Street to Cong Ly Bridge is currently undergoing sewer construction as part of the Nhieu Loc–Thi Nghe canal environmental sanitation project but Thang said his unit would complete the entire project by December to ensure a more beautiful city.

Mac Dang Nop, deputy general director of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Phu My Bridge Company, said the contractors on the Phu My Bridge project were pushing to finish the approaches to the bridge by the December 31 deadline.

Reducing jams

The completed Thu Thiem Tunnel would divert heavy lorries and container trucks transporting goods to the ports in districts 4 and 7, from the Hang Xanh roundabout and reduce major congestion, Thang said.

The completion of the Nam Ky Khoi Nghia–Nguyen Trong Tuyen route expansion that links Tan Son Nhat International Airport and the city centre will ease travel for foreign visitors and Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese) who come to Viet Nam for Tet.

Although the Phu My cable-stayed bridge, linking District 2 and District 7, opened to traffic on September 2, it still only serves cars under seven seats as some approach roads are not ready for large trucks or buses.

When finished on December 31, the bridge will provide easy access for heavy lorries and container trucks transporting goods from districts 2, 9 and Thu Duc on Ha Noi Highway to ports in districts 4 and 7 and the Mekong Delta, diverting them from congested areas in the city.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News