On the last day of the 2026 New Year holiday (January 4), when people from provinces and cities return to the Capital after the holiday, the number of vehicles increased sharply at the axes heading to the center such as the Phap Van - Cau Gie highway, old National Highway 1, National Highway 5, Thang Long Avenue and Ring Road 3.
However, thanks to proactive traffic diversion and regulation plans, the traffic situation in the area is basically controlled.
Ring Road 3 reduces pressure
Ring Road 3 has long been considered a traffic jam hotspot in Hanoi, when the traffic density is always high, especially during holidays and Tet. On the last day of the 2026 New Year holiday, although local congestion still appeared at some times, especially in the area of access roads, according to actual records, the traffic jam situation has decreased significantly.
Many drivers believe that compared to previous holidays, traffic on Ring Road 3 this year is "easier to breathe", vehicles are quickly cleared, and there is no prolonged congestion for hours.
Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung (Quoc Oai, Hanoi) said that at about 2 pm on January 4, when moving on Ring Road 3 on the highway in the direction from Thanh Tri bridge to Khuat Duy Tien, when he reached the Nuoc Ngam bus station area, he encountered congestion. The main reason is that the number of vehicles from Phap Van - Cau Gie expressway entering Ring Road 3 on the highway increased sharply.
However, according to Mr. Hung, after passing through the above area, travel is more convenient, although the speed is not yet high.
I was also quite surprised by yesterday's traffic situation, congestion still occurred because there were many vehicles but the clearance was also quite fast, completely different from the previous holidays," Mr. Hung shared.
According to records, by about 6 pm on the same day, vehicles on Ring Road 3 were moving relatively stably, without serious congestion.
Talking to PV, a representative of the Traffic Police Department (CSGT), Hanoi City Police said that the fact that Ring Road 3 on the highway "cooled down" congestion on January 4th came from many factors, in which flexible traffic organization solutions are assessed as key factors.
Forecasting the situation, right from the morning of January 4, the Traffic Police Department - Ministry of Public Security, Hanoi Traffic Police Department and related units agreed on a plan to ban trucks with a total weight of over 10 tons from circulating on Ring Road 3 elevated, the section from Thang Long bridge to the old National Highway 5 intersection and vice versa, in the time frame from 12:00 to 12:00 on the same day.
Heavy trucks often move slowly, easily causing traffic congestion. Currently, Hanoi is piloting the ban on trucks with a total vehicle weight of 10 tons or more going up Ring Road 3 elevated according to the time frame (6am - 9am and 4pm - 8pm).
Therefore, the Hanoi Department of Construction's timely issuance of a notice adjusting prohibited hours on January 4 has helped reduce the pressure on Ring Road 3," shared a representative of the Hanoi Traffic Police Department.
Along with that, immediately after the above announcement, Colonel Pham Quang Huy - Deputy Director of the Traffic Police Department, directed traffic police units in localities bordering Hanoi, highway traffic patrol and control teams under the Traffic Police Department to coordinate and support Hanoi in diverting vehicles from afar, temporarily preventing trucks over 10 tons from moving into the inner city in the direction of Ring Road 3.
Many bottlenecks are resolved before the holiday
In addition to being flexible in traffic organization, in the past time, many congestion points in Hanoi have also been handled promptly, contributing to creating favorable conditions for people to travel during the holidays.
Accordingly, through actual review, the Hanoi Traffic Police Department has identified 51 points and routes that frequently experience traffic congestion. Based on assessing the causes, the unit has advised the Board of Directors of Hanoi City Police to coordinate with relevant agencies to synchronously implement many solutions.
Many traffic congestion points were completely resolved right before and during the 2026 New Year holiday, such as opening the National Highway 1A section Km185 - Km186+400 (Ngu Hiep intersection); narrowing the barrier at the Kim Dong - Giai Phong intersection; opening to traffic the project to expand lane 15 Ngoc Hoi, connecting to the Phap Van - Cau Gie expressway...
Besides, right from January 3rd, the entire city's traffic police force has deployed 100% of its personnel and vehicles, deploying traffic diversion and regulation plans from early and remote.
The AI camera system also promotes efficiency in measuring vehicle traffic flow, thereby flexibly adjusting the traffic light cycle at key intersections during peak hours, minimizing traffic conflicts, and supporting traffic police in handling arising situations," shared a representative of the Hanoi Traffic Police Department.
