VietNamNet Bridge – Hanoians have suffered frequent traffic jams over the last week and the situation is predicted to worsen in the days near Tet (Lunar New Year).

Traffic jam on a section of local street in Hanoi. — VNA/VNS Photo

Local streets often plagued by serious traffic congestion include Tay Son, Ton Duc Thang, Thai Ha, Chua Boc, Lang Ha, Le Van Luong, Cau Giay, Xuan Thuy, Nguyen Van Cu, and Chuong Duong Bridge.

Nguyen Thuy Nga of Long Bien District said it took nearly an hour for her to drive the seven km from her house on Nguyen Van Cu Street to downtown Hanoi last Saturday afternoon.

“Normally, it only takes me about 20 minutes,” she added. “It’s terrible, vehicles blocked the road, no space to move.”

A man living in Trung Tu Residential Area said he had to spend an hour driving from his house to the National Cinema Centre. It was only 2.8km.

The large number of vehicles caused a section of the road to be clogged both during the day and at night, he said. Typically, traffic jams only took place in the daytime, he said.

The same situation has occurred on the road of Cau Giay – Xuan Thuy, partly due to the construction site of Nhon – Ha Noi Station. It occupies more than a half of the roadbed there.

Although taxis, trucks and coaches have been banned from the road during the day, the traffic situation has yet to improve.

Road users are also plagued by traffic jams in sections of the city’s Ring Road No 3 running through the streets of Khuat Duy Tien, Pham Van Dong, Pham Hung, Tran Duy Hung, Giai Phong, and Minh Khai.

A representative of the city’s traffic police said the number of vehicles on the streets within the last week was three times the usual number.

Apart from private vehicles, there were also a large number of vehicles carrying peach trees, kumquat trees and goods from nearby provinces to the inner city, he said.

Solutions

Ngo Manh Tuan, deputy director of the Hanoi’s Transport Department told Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that the department had worked with relevant agencies to quickly reduce traffic jams in the city.

First, they suspended issuing licences for construction sites along pavements and roads in the city.

Second, trucks, including container trucks, were banned in several streets between yesterday and Friday as well as between February 20 and February 21 from 6am-9am and 4:30pm-7:30pm, he said.

The streets encompassed sections of the Ring Road No 3 running through Khuat Duy Tien, Nguyen Xien to Phap Van intersection, a section of National Road No 70 running through the streets of Phuc La – Van Phu in Ha Dong District to Ngoc Hoi Street in Thanh Tri District, he said.

Tuan added the People’s Committee of the city had recently approved the proposal of narrowing the Ring Road No 3’s divider to fix the traffic congestion.

After the divider is narrowed, the road will be 8m wider than before, he said. 

Source: VNS