Many years ago, whenever holidays and Tet came, on the Au Co - Nghi Tam route from the center of Hanoi to Noi Bai International Airport and the northern provinces, people were bustling, cars connecting with cars, people connecting with people returning to their hometowns.
The Northwest gateway route of the capital is like a tight shirt, having to "shoulder" a huge volume of traffic every day.
The image of a dense stream of vehicles day after day, year after year has become familiar to people living around the area.
Faced with serious traffic congestion on major roads, Hanoi has implemented many solutions to reduce the situation, including the project to expand and upgrade Au Co - Nghi Tam road.
The project was deployed in 2020 and was scheduled to be completed after one year, but due to many difficulties, the main items have only been basically completed so far.
On the afternoon of August 30, many gateway routes to Hanoi such as Ring Road 3 to the southern provinces, National Highway 32 to Phu Tho, and National Highway 6 to Hoa Binh were crowded with people and vehicles returning to their hometowns before the National Day holiday.
At times, the lines of vehicles formed long lines, jostling each other to inch past traffic "hot spots" to leave the city.
At the Northwest gateway, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters recorded a surprising scene when the Au Co - Nghi Tam route did not experience local congestion like before.
Currently, the road has been expanded from 9m to 30m with 4-6 lanes, making it easy and convenient for vehicles to travel from the city center to Nhat Tan Bridge.
Departing from Ba Dinh district (Hanoi) to Vinh Phuc at 5:30 p.m., Mr. Le Van Hoang only took nearly 15 minutes for the nearly 5km distance from An Duong overpass to Nhat Tan bridge intersection.
"At first, we expected traffic jams, but we didn't expect Au Co - Nhat Tan road to be so clear. The road is wide, and vehicles can save a lot of travel time," said driver Hoang.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Huy (35 years old, Tay Ho district) was also very surprised when the famous traffic jam hotspot for many years in Hanoi was eliminated.
"After much anticipation, the Au Co - Nghi Tam road has been expanded and opened to traffic. The road to go home for holidays and Tet will now be closer for people," said Mr. Huy.
Mr. Le Xuan Truong, Project Commander, said that the Au Co - Nghi Tam expansion project is 3.7km long, starting at the Thang Loi hotel intersection and ending at the Nhat Tan bridge intersection.
Up to now, the main items of the project have been basically completed. The contractor is completing the final items such as median strips, road markings, traffic lights, lighting systems, etc. to bring the project to the finish line on September 2.
As an important route at the Northwest gateway of the capital, the expanded Au Co - Nghi Tam road will help relieve traffic congestion and ensure traffic connection between the center of Hanoi and Noi Bai International Airport .
