HCMC widening downtown boulevard amid traffic catastrophe

By Gia Minh June 18, 2024 | 07:23 pm PT

The expansion of Vo Van Kiet Boulevard aims to reduce congestion and accidents along the decade-old boulevard, where municipal traffic transforms into a parking lot every rush hour.

Trees are being cut down and the median that separates two motorcycle lanes on the would-be major Ho Chi Minh City thoroughfare.

The expansion covers a section of an 8-km long along the Tau Hu – Ben Nghe Canal, stretching from Tan Kien Intersection in Binh Chanh District to the Saigon River Tunnel in District 1.

Vo Van Kiet Avenue section through District 1. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Currently, the motorcycle lane on this segment is divided into two parts, one side is 3-3.5 m wide, and the other, next to the canal, 2-2.5 m wide, while the middle of the road is occupied by a hard median planted with trees and grass.

Doan Van Tan, Director of the Urban Traffic Management and Operations Center under the city’s Department of Transport, said he expected the renovation of the road to be completed by mid-September.

Removing the median will expand the motorcycle lane near the canal to about 7 m, allowing for more traffic to flow, and hopefully, according to the plan, flow more "smoothly."

About 236 trees on the median, which as a diameter of 20-30 cm each, are going to be cut down or relocated for the project, which will cost about VND13.1 billion from the city budget.

The concrete median will be removed to expand the motorbike lane. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Minh

The concrete median that divides the motorcycle lane of Vo Van Kiet Boulevard into two parts. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Minh

The current traffic volume on Vo Van Kiet Boulevard is increasing while the motorcycle lane from Binh Chanh District to District 1 is divided into two parts by a median, which often causes congestion and collisions, Tan said, noting that the road renovation will increase the capacity for travel on the route, making it safer for vehicles.

Vo Van Kiet Boulevard is 60 m wide and about 13 km long.

The road was opened to traffic in 2009 and is a vital route for southern Vietnam’s largest city and social, economic and cultural hub, linking Ho Chi Minh City’s western gateway with the city center and financial district.

There is now a plan to lengthen the route to link it with bordering Duc Hoa District in Long An Province to boost regional connectivity to Mekong Delta regions, "Vietnam’s rice basket" – and also Vietnam’s major producer of fruits and vegetables – of which Long An has considered it’s major northern gateway.

A section of Vo Van Kiet Boulevard linking to the Saigon River Tunnel. Photo by GoogleMaps