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Barriers trigger massive gridlock on Saigon street

By Huu Khoa   August 28, 2018 | 12:30 am PT
The erection of road fences for a drainage project is paralyzing traffic on Rach Ong Bridge in District 8, and this is set to continue for another year.
At 5 p.m. on Tuesday, long queues of vehicles stood unmoving and moved at snails space on Rach Ong Bridge, stretching around one kilometer from the intersection of Pham The Hien and Da Nam streets in District 8, more than half an hour southwest of the city center, to Tran Xuan Soan Street in District 7.

Long queues of vehicles were stuck on Rach Ong Bridge for a kilometer from the intersection of Pham The Hien and Da Nam streets in District 8 to Tran Xuan Soan Street in neighboring District 7.
Traffic congestion was to blame for the construction of fences at the foot of the bridge as part of a  project to upgrade wwater system along the Tau Hu - Ben Nghe Canal in District 8. The fences have been set up for several months, and it looked like a torture to move to the area during peak hours, said Nguyen Van Lam, a local man living nearby the bridge.  The project is expected to be finished in 2019, meaning that locals have to struggle to squeeze down narrow streets one more year.

It was because of a bottleneck caused by road fences at the foot of the bridge as part of work to upgrade the Tau Hu - Ben Nghe Canal in District 8. “The fences have been here for several months, and it is torture to go to the area during rush hour,” Nguyen Van Lam, who lives in the vicinity, complained bitterly. The work is expected to be finished in 2019, meaning locals have to squeeze through the narrowed street for one more year.
A bus driver assistant took to the street to regulate traffic as his bus waited so long to escape the jammed area.

A bus driver’s assistant took to the street to regulate traffic after his bus got stuck in the gridlock.
A little girl showed a tired face.

A little girl appears weary of waiting.
Diep My Hoang, a security guard in District 7, said he was on duty to regulate traffic around the area everyday. Peak hours of traffic congestion started 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and repeated at 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Diep My Hoang, a security guard working in District 7, said he is on duty to regulate traffic in the area every day. He said rush hour is between 7a.m. and 8a.m., and between 5p.m. and 8 p.m.
Until 7.30 p.m., the situation didnt get better. Vehicles along both sides moved at a snails space.

The situation didn’t improve day after day, with vehicles on both sides moving at a snail’s space.
Motorbike drivers felt tired to squeeze through the jammed area everyday.

Motorbikes squeeze through the bottleneck every day.

With around 12 million people, Ho Chi Minh City is considering various options to resolve its traffic problem, especially during rush hour.

The city is thinking about designating some main streets as one-way, building elevated roads and even banning private vehicles from downtown areas to ease the congestion.

There are some 8.8 million motorcycles besides cars and bicycles running on just 4,000 kilometers of roads.

Nearly 4,200 cars and 9,000 motorbikes are registered every month, while public transport is limited to buses.

Are motorbikes to blame for gridlock in Hanoi?
 
 

Barriers trigger massive gridlock on Saigon street
 
 
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