Temporary overpasses to facilitate HCMC airport access during tunnel construction

According to a plan announced by the city's Department of Transport of HCMC, the construction site of the tunnel on Phan Thuc Duyen Street will be expanded towards Tran Quoc Hoan Street.

The expansion will narrow Tran Quoc Hoan, a main gateway to the airport, from five to three lanes, which will worsen the traffic congestion near the airport.

Work to build two temporary overpasses at the Tran Quoc Hoan - Phan Thuc Duyen intersection thus will start this month.

Between Feb. 25 and April 25, contractors will build the first temporary bridge measuring 66 meters in length and accommodating three lanes.

Following this, from April 25 to June 25, a second bridge, 100 meters long with two lanes, will be constructed towards Hoang Van Thu Park to facilitate traffic.

The tunnel construction is expected to be completed later this year.

It has an investment of VND200 billion (US$8.21 million) and is part of a project to build a four-km-long road with six lanes connecting Tran Quoc Hoan and Cong Hoa streets, the other also leading to the airport.

Expecting to ease long-lasting traffic congestion around the international airport, the road costing VND4.8 trillion ($204 million) from the state budget will also connect to the airport's T3 domestic terminal, which is under construction.

Tan Son Nhat is Vietnam's biggest and busiest airport with an average of 60,000-70,000 passengers per day.

Last year it served 40.7 million passengers, against a designed capacity of 28 million and up 18.85% against 2022.