After more than two years of construction, on April 19, 2025, Ho Chi Minh City put into operation the Tran Quoc Hoan - Cong Hoa connecting route, more than 4km long, helping to open a new connection to Tan Son Nhat airport's T3 terminal.
However, an important item in the project is the underpass at the intersection of Truong Chinh - Tan Ky Tan Quy road, which is still "stuck in place".
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Traffic Construction Investment Management Board (Traffic Board), the underpass at the Truong Chinh - Tan Ky Tan Quy intersection is package 14 in the Tran Quoc Hoan - Cong Hoa connecting road project.
According to the design, the Truong Chinh - Tan Ky Tan Quy underpass is about 275m long. Of which, the closed tunnel is about 35m long, the open part is 120m long on each side.
The tunnel cross-section is about 10.5m, 2 lanes, organizing one-way traffic from Au Co Street to An Suong.
The Tran Quoc Hoan - Cong Hoa connecting road project has a total capital of more than VND 4,800 billion, while the Truong Chinh - Tan Ky Tan Quy underpass alone accounts for about VND 450 billion.
However, the entire tunnel construction area is located within the boundary of the Truong Chinh road expansion project (from Cong Hoa to Au Co), which is in the investment policy adjustment stage.
This makes it impossible to carry out site clearance for the underpass separately, forcing them to wait in sync with the Truong Chinh road expansion project.
"To construct the underpass, we must simultaneously compensate, clear the land and adjust the planning of Truong Chinh road. Therefore, this underpass cannot be implemented immediately" - said a representative of the Traffic Department.
In addition to the land issue, the Truong Chinh - Tan Ky Tan Quy underpass is also related to the stop of Metro Line 2 (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong) and will cross Cong Hoa Street, near the Truong Chinh trainhead. Therefore, the tunnel design needs to be adjusted to comply with the Metro planning, creating a complex complex connecting multi-level traffic.
Only when the design of Metro Line 2 station is completed can relevant units finalize the final plan for the underpass, ensuring no infrastructure conflicts and convenient traffic connections in the future.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, the Truong Chinh - Tan Ky Tan Quy underpass is expected to be put into operation before 2028.
When completed, the project will ensure continuous traffic from Truong Chinh and Cong Hoa streets to C12 streets, making it convenient to enter Terminal T3 and solve traffic congestion in the area.
While waiting for the tunnel construction, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction has directed the Road Infrastructure Management Center to study the plan to open the Cong Hoa - C12 intersection, helping vehicles from Cong Hoa Street (from Truong Chinh Street) to turn left onto Road C12 to Station T3. This solution is expected to be completed in June 2025.
In parallel with the underpass, Ho Chi Minh City also plans to expand Truong Chinh route (from Cong Hoa to Au Co) to 765m long.
The road will be expanded to 60m with a total investment of about VND4,500 billion, of which the cost of site clearance accounts for about VND1,750 billion. This project is also expected to be implemented from 2025 to 2028.
In addition, the Tan Ky - Tan Quy route (from Cong Hoa to Le Trong Tan) with a length of 636m will be upgraded from 8m to 30m, with 6 lanes. The total investment capital is about 1,600 billion VND, implemented in the same period of 2025 - 2028.
