The Department of Transport (DOT) of Ho Chi Minh City has just proposed that the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City include in the investment priority plan the Ton Duc Thang tunnel construction project in the period from now to 2030.
Accordingly, the tunnel under Ton Duc Thang street is more than 1km long (from Khanh Hoi bridge to Ba Son bridge), 20.5m wide, meeting 4 lanes of two-way traffic.
Total investment in underground tunnels is about 2,100 billion VND equal to Ho Chi Minh City budget, deployed in the period of 2024 - 2030.
Ton Duc Thang Street is located in the center of District 1, about 2km long, the starting point of Le Duan intersection, then runs through Ba Son area and curves along Bach Dang wharf park along the Saigon River to Khanh Hoi bridge.
This road directly connects Nguyen Hue walking street, Me Linh construction site, Bach Dang wharf park and is one of the few main routes between the central area with District 4 and the South of Ho Chi Minh City.
According to the Department of Transport of Ho Chi Minh City, the undergrounding of Ton Duc Thang Street has been included in the detailed urban construction planning project at 1/2000 scale (subdivision planning) of the existing central area of Ho Chi Minh City (930ha).
According to the above project, Ho Chi Minh City will expand urban space towards the Saigon River, organizing continuous public spaces along the west bank of the Saigon River.
The ground of Ton Duc Thang street (section from Ham Nghi to Me Linh Square) is for walking and tram space; Transfer motorized traffic to the underground road below in combination with an underground car park.
Recently, after Bach Dang Wharf Park was renovated, it attracted many people to have fun and entertainment, but it was difficult to connect via Nguyen Hue axis. This makes it unsafe for pedestrians to cross Ton Duc Thang Street, which has a very high traffic volume.
Therefore, if Ton Duc Thang Street is undergrounded, the above area can form an attractive public space, because activities can be organized from the shore to the Saigon River such as water music and fireworks viewing spots. .
In addition, in the above area, in the future there will be a pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River connecting the two open spaces of the existing center and the new center, Thu Thiem.
The bridge is 500m long, located between Ba Son bridge and the Saigon River crossing tunnel. The bridgehead on the District 1 side is located in the Bach Dang port park area and closest to Nguyen Hue walking street. Thu Duc City side arranged at Riverbank Park. Ho Chi Minh City aims to start construction of a pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River on April 30, 2025.
After undergrounding Ton Duc Thang Street, a continuous public space system will form on both sides of the river. Later, this place will be the main public space for Ho Chi Minh City residents.
