The Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway has recently continuously recorded serious congestion, especially in the section passing through the former Thu Duc City and the border area of Dong Nai Province.
During peak hours in the morning and afternoon, the flow of vehicles from An Phu intersection towards the expressway is often jammed, inching forward. The scene of thousands of vehicles jostling for many kilometers is no longer strange to people in the eastern area of the city.
Mr. Vu Van Tong, a resident of Binh Trung ward, Ho Chi Minh City, shared: "It is called a highway but the speed of movement is not as expected. Every time I return to other provinces on the weekend, I almost line up, sometimes even going slower than the normal route". Mr. Tong expressed his hope that the infrastructure will soon be improved, making travel convenient and avoiding wasting time. He expects the expressway expansion project to be quickly implemented and put into operation, completely solving the current congestion.
The Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway has a total length of nearly 55 km, and has been put into operation since 2015. This route was expected to significantly reduce the load on National Highway 51 and other Southeast routes. However, after nearly 10 years of use, the average traffic volume has increased by over 10% per year, far exceeding the design capacity.
With a scale of 4 lanes and 2 emergency lanes, the expressway is no longer able to meet actual traffic needs, especially when large projects such as Long Thanh International Airport and Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway are gradually taking shape.
Faced with overload, the project to expand the first section of the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway has been approved by the Government to be implemented in the form of an emergency project. The project is expected to officially start construction on August 19, with a total length of nearly 22 km. The starting point of the project is at the Ring Road 2 intersection (HCMC) and the end point is at the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway intersection (Dong Nai province).
In which, the section of the Ring Road 2 - Ring Road 3 overpass will be expanded to 8 lanes and the section from Ring Road 3 to the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway intersection will be 10 lanes. The project has a total investment of more than VND15,000 billion and will be basically completed in 2026.
At the same time, Ho Chi Minh City is also implementing a project to expand the section from An Phu intersection to Vo Chi Cong Street, 3.2 km long, with a scale of 8 lanes, a total investment of nearly 915 billion VND, to seamlessly connect with the expansion implemented by VEC.
The expansion of the expressway is expected to reduce pressure on the East of Ho Chi Minh City, enhance regional connectivity and serve the exploitation of phase 1 of Long Thanh airport from 2026.
The Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway used to be a strategic traffic axis, shortening travel time from Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Nai. However, after nearly a decade, this route is increasingly "weakened" because the speed of urban development and trade is too fast.
The start of expansion is considered an urgent solution to remove infrastructure bottlenecks, paving the way for sustainable development of the key economic region in the South.
