The new Tân An Bridge on National Highway 1A in Long An Province opened to traffic on June 7. — Photo sggp.org.vn

HCM CITY — A new Tân An Bridge worth VNĐ110 billion (US$4.7 million) on National Highway 1A in Long An Province opened to traffic on Sunday.

The National Highway 1A section passing through the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Long An regularly sees traffic jams during holidays.

Construction on the new Tân An Bridge began in September last year.

The new bridge is parallel to the existing Tân An Bridge, located in Tân An City and across the Vàm Cỏ Tây River.

The bridge and approach roads have a total length of 1,046m with a width of 12m, two lanes and a speed limit of 60km per hour.

Five other bridges, Mỏ Heo, Kênh T4, Kênh T62, Kênh T2 and Kênh T61 on National Route N1 through the province, were widened to 9m and opened to traffic on the same day.

Total cost for the work on the bridges is around VNĐ55 billion ($2.4 million).

The six bridges are expected to ease transport between HCM City and provinces and cities in the delta.

They are included in a national project on upgrading and building 98 major bridges on 29 national highways through 31 provinces and cities across the country.

The project, funded by JICA's ODA funds and domestic reciprocal capital, started in 2013.

It is expected to reduce transport congestion hotspots, improve transport networks, and contribute to socio-economic development in localities. — VNS