The HCM City-Long Thành- Dầu Giây Expressway is expected to be widened to 10-12 lanes. — Photo baodongnai.com.vn

HCM CITY — The People’s Committee of the southeastern province of Đồng Nai has petitioned Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc to approve the widening of the HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway to 10-12 lanes from four lanes.

Traffic congestion occurs regularly on a section of Highway No. 51 between HCM City and the province during peak hours and holidays, as well as the HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway.

The additional lanes would ease congestion when Long Thành International Airport is put into use.

Five years ago, the 55km-long HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway opened, shortening travel time between HCM City and southeastern provinces to 20 minutes instead of 60 minutes.

It takes only slightly more than one hour to travel from the city to Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province on the expressway.

However, drivers have been complaining about the slow speed on the road due to the high traffic density.

The expressway’s management board has frequently had to warn people to look for other routes.

According to the Vietnam Expressway Services Engineering Joint Stock Company, which manages the HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway, between 40,000 and 43,000 vehicles operate on it on weekends and 60,000 on holidays.

The sites that often have traffic congestion are Long Phước and Dâu Giây stations, branch D-Highway No. 50,  inner roads connecting with Highway 51, and Mai Chí Thọ and Võ Chí Công streets.

According to the Vietnam Expressway Corporation, 10 million vehicles used the expressway in 2015, which has increased to 16.5 million now.

Bùi Văn Quản, chairman of the HCM City Goods Transport Association, said that the travel time had increased transport costs for enterprises and delayed deliveries.

Từ Nam Thành, head of the Đồng Nai Province’s Department of Transport, said that after the province asked the Ministry of Transport to widen the expressway to 10-12 lanes, the ministry instructed relevant agencies to suggest investment methods for the project. — VNS