Over the past three months, contractors have elevated the road to tackle chronic flooding caused by high tides, leaving the ground floors of many properties far beneath the newly raised surface.
The VND93 billion (US$3.58 million) project, managed by the former Binh Thanh District construction authority, covers 1.2 kilometers and includes a new drainage system that is still being built.
Residents whose homes now sit up to 1.5 meters below the road rely on improvised steps made from plastic chairs, buckets, sandbags and other materials to get in and out.
Doan Van Thuan, 38, climbs over a 1.2-meter-high stack of sandbags outside his home, which he spent the past two months building to reach the street.
His doorway once stood nearly half a meter above the road, but his living room now resembles a sunken basement.
The steep drop from the road into Thuan’s house makes it difficult to move a motorbike indoors, forcing him to control the vehicle carefully to keep it from sliding downhill.
“If I raise the floor, the ceiling will become too low,” Thuan says. “Rebuilding the entire house is the only real solution, but I simply cannot afford it.”
A nearby supermarket also sits far below street level, with customers using makeshift wooden stairs, compacted soil and flattened cardboard to enter.
Deliveries become difficult as workers have to move goods across loose gravel, construction debris and uneven ground.
At Truong Xuan Thang’s coffee shop, customer numbers have dropped by more than half since the road was raised above the level of his storefront.
“As a tenant, I cannot rebuild a property that does not belong to me,” he says. “The longer the construction continues, the fewer customers we have.”
Many homes along the road appear dark and damp as heavy rain and tidal flooding repeatedly send moisture indoors.
Several businesses have closed and put up signs offering their premises for lease after losing customers during the prolonged construction.
Some families say they have spent nearly VND10 million building temporary concrete steps just to maintain access to their homes while the roadwork continues.
Outside Van Hau’s eatery, construction creates clouds of dust in dry weather and thick mud after rain, forcing staff to wash the area every day.
Customers stay away as pools of muddy water block the entrance and leave little room for motorbike parking.
“When it rains heavily, water rushes inside until the whole place looks like a pond,” Hau says. “It can take a full day to drain, and our furniture gets damaged.”
Local authorities say Dang Thuy Tram Street lies in a naturally low-lying area affected by tidal surges from the Vam Thuat River and Xuyen Tam Canal, making the road elevation and drainage upgrade necessary.
Because the main stormwater drainage lines are still being completed, drainage capacity along the street remains limited.
The project is about 70% complete. Contractors are preparing to lay the final asphalt surface and finish sidewalks and other streetscape works, with the upgraded road expected to open by the end of 2026.
