Traffic jam 10km at the gateway to Saigon

Cargo trucks entering the port were too slow, causing traffic jams that lasted for hours on the roads leading to Cat Lai, District 2, despite police control.

A long line of cars lined up on Dong Van Cong Street in the direction of Cat Lai Port while the opposite direction was very clear. Photo: HC

According to the traffic police force at Rach Chiec bridge toll station, at around 2am on May 9, the road to Cat Lai port began to be congested.Although there was a traffic control force, because the vehicles entered the port too slowly, they were backed up on the road, making it impossible for other vehicles to move.

During morning rush hour, traffic congestion becomes more and more serious and spreads to many neighboring roads at the eastern gateway of the city such as Mai Chi Tho, Eastern Ring Road, Hanoi Highway, Nguyen Thi Dinh...The line of cars stretched nearly 10 km from Cat Lai port to Rach Chiec bridge toll station. Vehicles inched forward on the road from Thu Duc to the center of Saigon. Although the traffic jam was mainly in the car lane, inIn some areas, motorbikes are also affected because containers and trucks are stacked up blocking the way.

Meanwhile, the Cat Lai intersection overpass has hundreds of container trucks parked on the bridge. Fearing that it would affect the safety of the bridge and at the same time limit the number of vehicles crowding into the port, the traffic police blocked the bridge head, not allowing vehicles to go up.

Traffic jams stretch from Cat Lai port to Rach Chiec bridge. Photo: HC

The long traffic jams left drivers exhausted after hours of waiting in the hot sun. Many peopleI had to jump out of the cabin to sit down and smoke and read the newspaper to kill time. "I transported goods from Binh Duong to Cat Lai port at 5am but by 10am I still couldn't get in," said a driver named Tam, shaking his head.

Another driver expressed his frustration, saying that traffic jams at the port happen almost every day, making it very time-consuming to transport goods. "On other days, even though the traffic jams are not as long as today, there are still long lines of people entering and leaving the port at very slow speeds," he said.

By this evening, traffic congestion on the roads leading to the port had eased, but vehicles were still moving at slow speeds.

Many drivers are tired of waiting for hours in the hot summer weather. Photo: HC

It is the largest and most modern port in Vietnam, with about 85% of cargo containers in Ho Chi Minh City area must pass through,Tan Cang Cat Lai has tens of thousands of vehicles every day, mostly container trucks. Therefore, congestion often occurs when goods are stuck in the port or vehicles enter the port slowly.

Regarding reducing traffic congestion in this port area, at the end of 2014, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee agreed to the proposal to build a complete My Thuy traffic intersection (District 2) with an underpass and overpass to resolve traffic congestion at this roundabout.

The project includes a main overpass for traffic from Phu My bridge through the intersection, onto Ring Road 2 to reach Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway and vice versa. Similarly, there is another overpass branch for vehicles (mainly containers) from Cat Lai to turn left to Phu My bridge. Underneath, a tunnel will be built for vehicles from Ring Road 2 to the port.

According to VNE