Five projects that could ease HCMC's traffic congestion in 2018

These infrastructure projects are scheduled for completion this year and could help ease the city's chronic congestion.

Thu Thiem Bridge 2

Once completed, this new bridge connecting District 1 with District 2 is expected to ease the strain on Thu Thiem Tunnel and boost the development of District 2's Thu Thiem New Urban Area.

The bridge will start at the intersection between Ton Duc Thang and Le Duan before crossing the Saigon River and ending at Thu Thiem's new Crescent Boulevard.

An architectural drawing of Thu Thiem Bridge 2.

Built using the Build-Transfer (BT) model with a total investment of nearly VND4.26 trillion ($188 million), the cable-stayed bridge will be nearly 1.5-kilometer (0.93-mile) long with six lanes. The bridge will have decorative lighting, and its 113-meter (371-foot) tall tower leaning toward Thu Thiem will act as a welcoming gateway to the new urban area.

The bridge is scheduled to be inaugurated during the Reunification Day (April 30) holiday, 38 months after construction started in February 2015.

Four major roads in Thu Thiem New Urban Area

With a total investment of over VND12 trillion, this BT project includes the 6-lane Crescent Boulevard, a 4-lane road around the central lake, a 2-lane road along the river bank and an elevated road through the Eco Forest Park in the south.

Once completed, the four roads are expected to boost the development of Thu Thiem New Urban Area. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

The four roads will have a total length of nearly 12 kilometers and will include 10 bridges. Once completed, they will connect existing structures such as Thu Thiem Bridge 1, the East-West Highway and other planned bridges over the Saigon River, and will help boost the development of Thu Thiem.

The roads will also help connect the city's downtown with its neighboring provinces, therefore easing traffic congestions at the city's eastern gateway.

Work on the four roads started in April 2013, and they are scheduled for completion this year.

My Thuy Intersection

Started in June 2016, this VND840 billion project at the intersection between Belt Road 2, Nguyen Thi Dinh and Dong Van Cong in District 2 is expected to help ease congestion outside Cat Lai Port, the largest port in Vietnam.

My Thuy Intersection on Google Maps.

The first phase of the project includes a 4-lane overpass along Belt Road 2, a tunnel for vehicles turning left from Belt Road 2 toward Cat Lai, Ky Ha Bridge 3 and new roads along both banks of the My Thuy Canal.

The My Thuy intersection lies on the main path toward Cat Lai Port and often suffers from heavy traffic congestion as a large amount of container trucks frequently passes through it on their way in and out of the port.

The project is scheduled for completion in June should help ease congestion as trucks heading in and out of the port will no longer have to share the road with other vehicles.

An Suong Tunnel

This project at the intersection between Truong Chinh Street in District 12 and the beginning of National Highway 22 in Hoc Mon District aims to tackle one of the city's major congestion and accident hotspots.

The VND514 billion project includes two tunnels separating vehicles traveling in opposite directions. Each tunnel is 9-9.5 meter wide with 2 lanes and a speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour. The tunnels are designed with a lifespan of 100 years and will be able to survive magnitude 7 earthquakes.

An architect's impression of An Suong Tunnel.

Once the project is completed, it will feature a 3-level intersection with a ground-level road, a dual tunnel and an overpass. The project is expected to prevent congestion along key routes connecting Ho Chi Minh City and its neighboring provinces.

Work on the An Suong Tunnel started in early 2017 and it is scheduled to be completed around August.

Nguyen Thai Son Intersection Overpass

This project, which broke ground in February 2017 following an urgent instruction from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, has a total investment of VND504 billion and aims to ease congestion on streets around Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

When completed, the N-shaped overpass will have a total of three branches: from Nguyen Kiem to Nguyen Thai Son, from Nguyen Kiem to Hoang Minh Giam and from Hoang Minh Giam to Nguyen Thai Son. Each branch will be 370 meters long and 7.5 meters wide.

An architect's impression of the completed N-shaped overpass.

The Hoang Minh Giam-Nguyen Thai Son branch was opened in July 2017 while the Nguyen Kiem-Hoang Minh Giam opened in November. The land for the last branch is still being cleared.

Once the land is cleared, the final branch should be completed in three months, according to the investor. When all three branches are opened, authorities expect that traffic congestion around this hotspot will be significantly reduced.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, the city's chairman, said in August that up to 7.6 million motorbikes and 700,000 cars were on the streets of the city.

The rapidly increasing number of private vehicles has been blamed for worsening gridlock in Vietnam’s biggest city.