VietNamNet Bridge – The capital city has proposed a VND1.5 trillion (US$66 million), two-year project that will upgrade roads and divide traffic flow at the Phap Van-Cau Gie Expressway and Ring Road No 3 intersection.

Heavy traffic congestion occurs during peak hours at the intersection between Phap Van-Cau Gie Expressway and Ring Road No 3 in Ha Noi. -- File photo

The proposal, submitted to the Transport Ministry, seeks to tackle the problem of severe traffic jams that frequently clog the intersection.

The project designers, Viet Nam Road Administration (VRA) and Ha Noi-based Transport Engineering Design Inc. (TEDI), say it is based on actual traffic conditions.

The important intersection, the biggest gateway to southern Ha Noi, gets badly congested often, especially during peak hours and holidays like Tet, a VRA official said.

A study of vehicles passing through the Phap Van found that the number of trucks using it was higher than private cars and public buses, especially in the Phap Van- Giai Phong- Ngoc Hoi and Ngoc Hoi-Phap Van directions. The number of trucks plying these routes was three times as high as private cars and public buses.

TEDI experts found this imbalance “illogical,” because trucks are usually restricted or prohibited on urban roads.   

They warned that congestion in the area will become more serious when the project to expand the Phap Van-Cau Gie Expressway is completed in early 2018, expanding to six lanes from four with vehicle speeds of 100-120km/ hour.

The new project will apply the principle of dividing vehicle flows into urban areas and upgrading roads. The administration is looking at measures to restrict or ban trucks passing through the intersection.

Earlier, Nguyen The Hung Vice Chairman of the Ha Noi People’s Committee, had said that solutions to reduce traffic congestion at the intersection would include two bridges crossing the Linh Dam Lake and two approach roads to the viaduct.

He said the city would spend its budget to build the two bridges and approach roads this year, and call for investment, especially from the private sector, for other projects. 

VNS