On the afternoon of July 4, Lao Dong's records at the An Phu intersection (in Binh Trung and An Khanh wards, Ho Chi Minh City) towards the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway showed a very large number of vehicles pouring in, causing serious congestion.
On the section from Mai Chi Tho Street to An Phu intersection, cars lined up in many layers, almost unable to move. Container trucks, trucks and cars were in a rush, forcing many drivers to turn off their engines.
Mr. Tran Van Cuong, a small truck driver (residing in Binh Hung ward), shared: "I have been stuck here for more than an hour, and have only been able to move for more than 1km. The weather was hot, the vehicles could not move, the front of the vehicles were packed with people, with no way out.
Not only localized congestion at the intersection, many drivers said the congestion was prolonged on the entire expressway.
Traffic police are on duty continuously at intersections but also have a hard time diverting traffic.
By nearly 4:00 p.m., the congestion had not shown any signs of abating.
The Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway, 55 km long, was inaugurated in early 2015, and is the main traffic axis connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the Southeast provinces. However, in recent years, the high traffic volume has caused this route to be overloaded, especially the section from An Phu intersection (HCMC) to Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway intersection (Dong Nai) with a traffic volume exceeding 25% of the designed capacity.
To address this situation, Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) is expected to start the project to expand the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh section on August 19, 2025. The project has a total length of 21 km, from the Ring Road 2 intersection (HCMC) to the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway intersection (Dong Nai). Of which, the section from Ring Road 2 to Ring Road 3 will be expanded to 8 lanes, the remaining section to the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway intersection will be expanded to 10 lanes. The total investment of the project is about 15,720 billion VND, expected to be basically completed in 2026.
In addition, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction has recently approved a project to expand the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway connecting road (from An Phu intersection to Ring Road 2) with a total investment of 900 billion VND. The project promises to contribute significantly to the completion of the transportation network in the eastern area of Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast region.
