Obsession with traffic jams near Tet
Living nearly 30 years next to Hoang Minh Giam street, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa said that she is used to daily traffic jams.
But the most terrible are the days leading up to Tet. On the road, there are only people and vehicles jostling. There were times when I was only 2km from home but had to travel for nearly 2 hours.
According to reporters of Lao Dong Newspaper, at many times on September and October, traffic congestion spread throughout key streets such as Lang - Truong Chinh street, Thang Long - Nguyen Chi Thanh underpass and Pham Hung - Me Tri - Duong Dinh Nghe streets... Vehicles lined up, unable to move, and prolonged traffic jams and congestion occurred frequently.
According to many drivers, increased traffic pressure is due to the beginning of the week, travel demand, Tet shopping and people going out early to prepare for worshiping Ong Cong and Ong Tao. Cold rain makes travel even more difficult, especially at intersections and underpasses.
Lieutenant Colonel Ngo Duc Canh - officer of Road Traffic Police Team No. 3 - said that during the Tet holiday, the traffic volume increases, unfavorable weather causes traffic pressure to increase. The force has arranged duty at key routes and intersections to promptly handle arising situations.
Efforts to reduce congestion
Traffic expert Nguyen Xuan Thuy analyzed that traffic congestion is a phenomenon that has been foreseen but there is no immediate solution to respond effectively.
While waiting for fundamental solutions such as infrastructure development, limiting personal vehicles, raising traffic participation awareness... it is necessary to have immediate measures for specific situations" - Mr. Thuy said.
Hanoi's efforts in reducing traffic congestion have also been recognized. For example, Giai Phong road, which has been a "hot spot" of traffic congestion for many years, has organized temporary traffic diversion through the Kim Dong - Giai Phong underpass and intersection from February 10 to March 31.
Or the Ring Road 2.5 project, Dam Hong - National Highway 1A section, officially opened to technical traffic on February 10, after 12 years of construction. The project is invested in the form of a BT contract with a length of 1.6km, total investment of about 1,317 billion VND.
These two important projects are expected to partially solve the traffic congestion situation, especially during the Binh Ngo Tet 2026.
In particular, the deployment of the AI camera system has strongly supported traffic police during peak traffic hours before Tet.
According to Lao Dong Newspaper reporters on February 10, in just about 30 minutes, at least 5 situations and incidents were detected through the AI camera system. Thanks to that, traffic police forces on duty on the road were present in time to handle, limit the risk of prolonged congestion and maintain stable traffic flow.
To proactively prevent congestion before, during and after the Tet holiday, the Hanoi Traffic Police Department has arranged forces to be on duty at key intersections, key routes and gateways to the city. In parallel with that, there is close coordination with grassroots police to organize traffic diversion, traffic guidance and quickly handle arising situations.
At the Hanoi Traffic Control Center, data from the AI camera system is continuously updated, visually displayed through graphs of traffic flow, speed and vehicle density in real time. From there, it helps functional forces closely monitor every fluctuation of the vehicle flow.
Officers and soldiers on duty at the Center must continuously monitor the camera system, coordinate with local traffic police teams to early warn of routes, radial axes, beltways, and bridges with high traffic volume, proactively deploy synchronous professional measures to ensure smooth and safe traffic" - Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Khuong - Deputy Head of the Traffic Command and Traffic Light Control Team - Hanoi Traffic Police Department - said.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Khuong, the greatest effect of the AI-integrated camera and traffic light system is not only in handling violations, but also in reducing congestion and improving traffic efficiency. "Green Wave" helps to warn early, adjust lights in real time, and reduce the need for traffic police to directly regulate traffic.
Need comprehensive solutions
In the Master Plan of the Capital with a 100-year vision announced by the Hanoi People's Committee, many solutions have been proposed. In the period 2026-2045, Hanoi will proceed to distribute traffic outside the inner city; connect traffic between Hanoi and neighboring provinces: Supplement routes connecting inter-regional road and railway traffic with provinces and cities around Hanoi: Phu Tho, Thai Nguyen, Hung Yen, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh... Coordinate the implementation of key national projects such as the North-South high-speed railway and the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway (proposing Gia Lam station as a provincial-level station), Hanoi - Lang Son railway...
The plan will supplement the development orientation of urban railways in the direction of strengthening inter-regional links with urban areas and neighboring provinces; researching underground metro lines from Ring Road 3 into the inner city, associated with the TOD model, underground parking lots and services around the station.
Accelerate the progress of metro lines, including line No. 2 and line No. 5 (Van Cao - Hoa Lac)... TOD planning (urban development in the direction of public transport) optimizes the efficiency of metro and underground space. Accelerate the progress of road traffic projects: Ring Road 4, Gia Binh airport connecting road; bridges across rivers such as Thuong Cat bridge, Me So bridge, Ring Road 4.5, Ring Road 5, Tran Hung Dao bridge, Ngoc Hoi bridge, new bridges connecting Ring Road 4.5 across the Red River, connecting from Ba Vi across the Da River to expand urban development space; Improve and expand existing roads, radial traffic roads along 9 dynamic axes... are backbone projects, creating strategic breakthroughs in connecting neighboring areas and reducing traffic load for inner city traffic, solving congestion and strengthening regional connection.
It is necessary to study and supplement the strengthening of the inter-regional transportation system (chesboard box network structure) connecting new urban areas, old urban areas, combined with renovation and reconstruction of dilapidated old streets and slums, to relieve local traffic congestion in the inner city.
Review planning to supplement capacity for Noi Bai International Airport. Research to put Gia Lam and Hoa Lac airports into dual-use operation (civilian and military), reserve land funds in the Southern region (Ung Hoa) to build the second airport in the Capital region.
In the 2026 - 2035 period alone, about 2,682.997 billion VND will be mobilized to implement 14 infrastructure projects. These projects are expected to solve most of the current congestion situation, especially during the pre-Tet period.
