Roadwork leaves Saigon artery under thick coat of dust

Since the Hanoi Highway expansion project was launched three months ago, local residents and drivers have been putting up with pollution every day. 

The worst-hit area is this intersection in Linh Trung Ward, Thu Duc District, where another tunnel and two other overpasses are also being built.

Many drivers have to turn on the fog lights.

As the main route linking Ho Chi Minh City and southeastern provinces, the highway is almost always heavy with traffic.

The road has become a nightmare for many people.

A man squints and covers his nose when driving through the clouds of dust.

“I splash water on the road four times a day, but it doesn't seem to help," says a local.

“Every time I leave my truck here, I have to clean it up soon later,” driver Le Minh Tan says.

Son, owner of a motorbike repair shop, says he often has to wear a mask. "The shop needs cleaning up every day,” he says.

Plants are also coated under a thick layer of dust. The road expansion project, costing an estimated VND518 billion ($22.8 million), is expected to be finished by the end of 2017.