HÀ NỘI – The capital city has proposed a VNĐ1.5 trillion (US$66 million), two-year project that will upgrade roads and divide traffic flow at the Pháp Vân-Cầu Giẽ Expressway and Ring Road No 3 intersection.

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

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

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

A study of vehicles passing through the Pháp Vân found that the number of trucks using it was higher than private cars and public buses, especially in the Pháp Vân- Giải Phóng- Ngọc Hồi and Ngọc Hồi-Pháp Vân 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 Pháp Vân-Cầu Giẽ 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, Nguyễn Thế Hùng Vice Chairman of the Hà Nội People’s Committee, had said that solutions to reduce traffic congestion at the intersection would include two bridges crossing the Linh Đàm 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