HCM City has allocated an additional nearly VNĐ200 billion (US$7.6 million) to widen a key stretch of the HCM City - Long Thành Expressway from An Phú interchange to Ring Road 2, increasing it from four to eight lanes.
HCM City has allocated an additional over US$7.6 million to widen The HCM City - Long Thành Expressway. Photo laodong.vn
The city’s Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board said that after receiving capital allocation, the project will start construction in September.
It covers a total length of 3.2km, with a total investment of over VNĐ915 billion (nearly $35 million) from HCM City’s budget.
The road surface will be widened on both sides by 4.74m each, increasing the total width to 36m.
The two bridges along the route, including Mương Kênh Bridge and Đỗ Xuân Hợp Overpass, will also be widened by 5.25m on each side.
The project connects with key traffic infrastructure projects under construction such as the An Phú and Mỹ Thủy interchanges.
It will not only serve growing traffic demand but also connect better to national highway, ring road and regional road networks, and to the upcoming Long Thành International Airport in Đồng Nai Province.
At the same time, the Government is also accelerating the widening of the HCM City - Long Thành - Dầu Giây Expressway.
The Việt Nam Expressway Corporation (VEC) will carry out urgent investment procedures and start construction on August 19. The project is expected to be completed in 2026.
The expansion covers a 21km segment of HCM City – Long Thành – Dầu Giây Expressway, stretching from Ring Road 2 of HCM City to intersect with Biên Hòa – Đồng Nai Expressway.
The section from Ring Road 2 to Ring Road 3 will be widened to eight lanes, while the section from Rinh Road 3 to interchange of Biên Hòa- Vũng Tàu Expressway will be upgraded to 10 lanes.
This project has a total investment of over VNĐ15,7 billion ($600,1 million), all mobilised by VEC.
Previously, the 55km HCM City - Long Thành - Dầu Giây Expressway was put into operation in 2015 with four lanes, becoming a vital traffic axis connecting HCM City with the Southeast and Central Highlands regions.
However, after 10 years of operation, traffic volume has continuously increased, and the section from An Phú intersection to Biên Hòa - Vũng Tàu Expressway intersection is often overloaded.
It is expected that by 2026, when the first phase of the Long Thanh International Airport comes into operation, if the expressway is not expanded, it will not meet traffic needs.