Traffic jam before Tet peak
In recent days, although it has not yet entered the peak Tet season, traffic at the gateway to Tan Son Nhat airport (Tan Binh district) has been continuously overloaded.
In particular, Lang Cha Ca roundabout - where major roads such as Tran Quoc Hoan, Cong Hoa, Hoang Van Thu and Thang Long intersect - is often congested. Cars line up in long lines while motorbikes jostle to move little by little, honking their horns, causing chaos.
Cong Hoa route - the main traffic axis connecting District 12, Tan Phu, Tan Binh with the city center and airport is considered the hottest spot.
According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, traffic volume on this route has exceeded its design capacity by 142%. Even a small incident can lead to prolonged congestion.
The Cong Hoa - Hoang Hoa Tham intersection, despite having a flyover, is still a "black spot" of traffic congestion due to the large volume of traffic. Solutions to organize one-way traffic during morning rush hour and vice versa in the afternoon are also not effective enough.
Similarly, Truong Chinh Street - another important traffic axis is often overloaded with a traffic volume exceeding 118%.
The section from An Suong intersection to Cong Hoa has up to 10 traffic lanes, but then Truong Chinh street (section from Cong Hoa to Au Co) narrows to only 4 lanes, forming a "bottleneck", a major cause of traffic jams.
Meanwhile, Tan Son Nhat airport will welcome nearly 40 million passengers in 2024, putting heavy pressure on the surrounding traffic system.
It is expected that during the 2025 Lunar New Year, the airport will serve about 125,849 passengers per day, making the congestion even worse.
Opening two routes to reduce traffic pressure
To solve this situation, Mr. Luong Minh Phuc - Director of the Management Board of Investment and Construction of Traffic Works in Ho Chi Minh City - said that two important projects, the Tran Quoc Hoan - Cong Hoa connecting road and the expansion of Hoang Hoa Tham street, will open phase 1 on January 20, in time to serve people traveling during the Lunar New Year.
The Tran Quoc Hoan - Cong Hoa connecting road project has a total investment of more than 4,800 billion VND, starting construction at the end of 2022.
The 4 km long route starts at the Tran Quoc Hoan - Phan Thuc Duyen intersection and ends at the C12 - Cong Hoa - Truong Chinh intersection.
When put into use, this route will create a new traffic direction from Phan Thuc Duyen Street to Cong Hoa Street, reducing congestion at Lang Cha Ca roundabout and Cong Hoa Street.
In addition, the project to expand Hoang Hoa Tham Street, from Cong Hoa to the airport with a total capital of nearly 300 billion VND, the road surface is widened to 22 m, helping to reduce traffic congestion in the area.
Mr. Tran Van Hoach - Head of Service Quality Supervision Department of Southern Airport Authority - said that the units have coordinated to develop a plan to ensure security and traffic during the 2025 Lunar New Year.
Multiple rapid response teams will be deployed to promptly handle traffic incidents or emergency situations.
At the same time, the authorities will increase inspections, handle violations and organize remote traffic flow on the roads leading to the airport. These solutions aim to ensure smooth traffic, creating convenience for people to enter and exit the airport during Tet.
