The gateway to Ben Tre is congested.
At Rach Mieu Bridge (connecting Tien Giang and Ben Tre), these days, local traffic jams have been occurring continuously at both ends of the bridge. The reason is that the roadway up the Rach Mieu Bridge has 2 lanes for cars in each direction, but when reaching the bridge, there is only 1 lane left, creating a "bottleneck" right at the foot of the bridge. Therefore, this area often experiences local traffic jams, especially during holidays and Tet.
Chau Duy Nguyen (Giong Trom district, Ben Tre province) shared: “I was on my way home, but when I got to Rach Mieu bridge, due to the large number of vehicles, there was a traffic jam. It took me more than 45 minutes to get across Rach Mieu bridge. The traffic jam made the drivers very tired and frustrated.”
At Dinh Khao ferry, near Tet, people's travel needs increase. Many trucks pass through Cho Lach (Ben Tre province) to transport ornamental flowers and fruits to provinces and cities such as Vinh Long, Can Tho city, An Giang... In the direction from Vinh Long to Cho Lach, traffic jams also occur similarly.
According to Mr. Nguyen Tuan Kiet (living in Vinh Long province): “I drive a truck through Cho Lach (Ben Tre province) to transport ornamental flowers to Vinh Long province. Near Tet, the demand for transporting ornamental flowers and fruits increases. Therefore, in the past few days, traffic jams have been happening for a long time, making drivers very tired because they have to inch forward to wait for the ferry.”
Solutions to reduce traffic jams
Regarding the local traffic congestion on Rach Mieu Bridge, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Minh Hiep - Deputy Head of the Road Traffic Police Team under the Traffic Police Department of Tien Giang Provincial Police - said that the Traffic Police forces of Tien Giang and Ben Tre provinces are coordinating and sending forces to be on duty on both sides of Rach Mieu Bridge. When the number of vehicles increases suddenly, the authorities will regulate traffic across the bridge in each direction to reduce local traffic congestion.
Accordingly, if the Tien Giang side has a prolonged local traffic congestion, the traffic police force of Ben Tre Provincial Police will block vehicles from Ben Tre Province to allow vehicles from My Tho City (Tien Giang Province) to move across Rach Mieu Bridge and vice versa to regulate traffic at this section" - Lieutenant Colonel Hiep informed.
Regarding traffic jams at Dinh Khao Ferry, Mr. Le Hoang Thong - Head of Dinh Khao Ferry - said that near Tet, people's travel needs increase, especially the transportation of ornamental flowers and fruits from Cho Lach (Ben Tre province) to Vinh Long.
The unit has developed a plan to serve the travel needs of the people. If the demand increases, the ferry terminal will arrange for another ferry to operate, bringing the total to 5 to meet the travel needs during Tet.
Colonel Tra Quang Thanh - Deputy Director of Vinh Long Provincial Police - said that, grasping the travel needs of people and vehicles via Dinh Khao ferry during Tet, Vinh Long Provincial Police has directed the Traffic Police Department to increase forces to the scene to regulate traffic. At the same time, the police force also requested the ferry terminal operator to increase more ferries to serve the travel needs of people, thereby limiting the prolonged traffic congestion at this location.
