Construction sites choke Hanoi gateway

Nguyen Trai Street packed with vehicles heading to central Hanoi at 8:00 a.m. on Monday.

Three days ago, construction sites were erected to build a channel from the To Lich River to the Yen Xa wastewater treatment plant.

Motorbike drivers use the sidewalk to circumvent traffic congestion.

Workers from the project join traffic police to help regulate traffic.

Each construction site stretches for 60 m long of road and blocks 6.5 m of lanes, making up one-fourth of the street, leaving an area of only 11-12 m wide left for traffic.

A heavy traffic jam at 9 a.m. in Ha Dong District.

The city’s Transport Department has released a plan to adjust traffic to prevent gridlock.

Two women look tired as the sit stuck in traffic.

Workers prepare equipment to set up barriers around a construction site on June 9.

Chong Jiun Yiat, a representative of the project's Japanese contractor Teken Corporation, said the project will include eight construction sites occupying around 500 m of Nguyen Trai Street.

More construction sites will be established on the street between June 13 and July 23.

​​​​​​Work started building the Yen Xa wastewater treatment plant in 2016. The 13.8 ha plant will have a capacity of 270,000 cubic meters of water per day and a culvert system stretching 52 km to collect wastewater along the To Lich River, Lu River and the Ha Dong new urban area.

Costing VND16 trillion, the project was scheduled for completion in the second quarter last year, but has faced intense delays.