Speeding up the connection of two expressways at the gateway to Ho Chi Minh City

On the morning of October 16, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan inspected the progress of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway, Nhon Trach Bridge and the connection plan to prepare to put these projects into operation.

The first section of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway at the intersection with Ring Road 3 through Long An is waiting for construction of 300m to connect to the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong expressway. Photo: My Quynh

Mr. Pham Hong Quang, Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) said that Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway has a total length of nearly 58km, passing through the provinces of Long An (2.7km), Ho Chi Minh City (26.4km) and Dong Nai (28.7km). The total investment to date is nearly 29,600 billion VND.

Currently, the 3.1km section from the intersection with the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway to National Highway 1 (Binh Chanh) has been basically completed. VEC has proposed to put this section into operation in November to serve people's convenient travel at the end of the year.

Currently, there is still 300m of connecting road from Ben Luc Expressway to Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway at the intersection of Ring Road 3 through Long An under urgent construction for connection.

However, according to Mr. Tran Thien Truc, Deputy Director of the Department of Transport of Long An province, the progress of this section of the route according to the contract must be completed by December 2024. The contractor has just completed the roadbed, and in recent days has been constructing the aggregate layer. Due to the heavy rain, the progress of the construction of the aggregate layer and the top asphalt layer has been affected.

Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan requested the Department of Transport of Long An province to urge contractors to quickly complete the 300m section of the access road, and work with VEC on a traffic diversion plan to connect these two important expressways. Photo: Tu Doan

Deputy Minister Le Anh Tuan requested the Department of Transport to direct contractors to increase construction teams, take advantage of good weather to complete the remaining work, and strive to put it into operation in sync with a section of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway.

“Although this section is not long, it is of great significance in sharing the load for the overloaded Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway, so the units need to coordinate closely and complete the remaining work to put it into synchronous operation,” the Deputy Minister emphasized and asked VEC to coordinate with the Department of Transport of Long An province to develop reasonable traffic diversion plans when it is put into operation.

In addition, VEC also plans to put into operation an additional 18.8km section from the National Highway 1 intersection to the Nguyen Van Tao intersection (Nha Be District) in the first quarter of 2025. Currently, the works on the expressway are being urgently completed. At the Nguyen Van Tao intersection, contractors are focusing all their manpower and equipment to complete the railings, bridge abutments, and access roads.

The contractor is constructing the road surface of a 300m section of Ring Road 3 to connect Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway with Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway. Photo: Tu Doan

Deputy Minister Le Anh Tuan requested the Project Management Board to coordinate with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport and the Ho Chi Minh City Traffic Works Investment Management Board to complete the work at the intersection with National Highway 50 and Nguyen Van Tao intersection to promptly complete the items and put them into operation as proposed by VEC.

Also on the morning of October 16, Deputy Minister Le Anh Tuan inspected the Nhon Trach Bridge project and the intersection with the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway. According to the plan, Nhon Trach Bridge will be basically completed and put into operation on April 30, 2025. However, the intersection between Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 and Nhon Trach Bridge started later, so the progress has not been parallel.

According to the My Thuan Project Management Board, Nhon Trach Bridge will be completed on April 30, 2025, but it depends on the connection at the Ring Road 3 intersection to go to the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway. Photo: Tu Doan

According to the design, at the intersection between Ring Road 3 - Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway - Nhon Trach Bridge, there are 4 branches going up and down. Ho Chi Minh City Transport Department said that it will try to complete branch A to connect from Nhon Trach Bridge to Long Thanh Expressway to Ho Chi Minh City. When this project is completed, it will create a very convenient connection for vehicles from Ho Chi Minh City to Nhon Trach and vice versa, reducing pressure on Long Thanh Bridge.

However, according to the My Thuan Project Management Board, it is necessary to complete branch C soon for better traffic connection. Because if only connecting by branch A, it will be difficult to meet the very high traffic volume.

Deputy Minister Le Anh Tuan requested the Traffic Department to closely follow the project's progress, contractors need to increase human resources and equipment, focus on construction "3 shifts, 4 crews" to complete branch C in time, connecting to Nhon Trach bridge.

"This is an important project towards the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country. The completion of Nhon Trach Bridge is of great significance in relieving traffic congestion at the eastern gateway of the city, so the Traffic Department and contractors need to make more efforts and strive to complete the intersection synchronously so that the project can be effective," the Deputy Minister emphasized.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/day-nhanh-ket-noi-hai-tuyen-cao-toc-cua-ngo-tphcm-192241016143639565.htm