HCMC's eastern gateway remains death trap with no solutions in sight

By Gia Minh November 22, 2023 | 02:03 am PT

Nguyen Duy Trinh Street stretching 2 km in HCMC's Thu Duc City frequently serves large trucks but it is narrow and has no median strip, which has resulted in a series of deadly accidents.

Most mornings, the street is filled with container and trailer trucks as well as tank trucks that are either on their way to or leaving Phu Huu Port.

Stretching 7-8 m wide, the street has no median strip, leaving cars and motorbikes at risk from large vehicles.

Various types of trucks use the street by up to 10,000 times every day, according to official data.

Trucks fill up Nguyen Duy Trinh Street in Thu Duc City, November 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Minh

Trucks fill up Nguyen Duy Trinh Street in Thu Duc City, HCMC, November 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Minh

A main route on the east side of Ho Chi Minh City, Nguyen Duy Trinh Street runs through a residential area where there are also many company offices, so it serves many cars and motorbikes each day.

According to HCMC’s Department of Transport, there were seven accidents on the street last year, killing six people and injuring one.

So far this year, there have been five accidents resulting in five fatalities.

Most recently, on Nov. 13, a man carrying his wife and child on a motorbike collided with a container truck moving in the same direction.

His wife died on the spot while the child was severely injured.

Police arrive at the scene after an accident in which a man carrying his wife and child on a motorbike collided with a container truck moving in the same direction on Nguyen Duy Trinh Street, Nov. 13, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Ha Giang

Dinh Vu, 50, who lives in the area, said though the road is small, many trucks move very quickly and even enter the street during peak hours (when they are supposed to be banned) when there are many motorbikes.

"In other cases, it is motorcyclists who caused accidents while being careless and breaking the rules, as they pass trucks in the same direction by invading the opposite lane or crossing the street without carefully observing the traffic flow," he added.

Nguyen Quang Chi, deputy head of Thu Duc's Department of Transportation and Public Works, said HCMC mulled a project to expand the street four years ago at VND832 billion (US$34.35 million), but now the fund has jumped to VND1.63 trillion following the higher site clearance and compensation cost.

He said the project had been approved to be carried out using the city's budget and was still in the process of finishing investment procedures.

However, it is still unclear when the project will start.

Meanwhile, the HCMC Transport Department said the city was mulling a project to build a new 6 km, 12-lane road to link Phu Huu Port with HCMC – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway and HCMC’s Ring Road 3, which means container trucks could avoid using Nguyen Duy Trinh Street entirely.

Therefore, the project to expand Nguyen Duy Trinh Street must be reconsidered, the department said.