HCM City builds 2 ramps from Võ Văn Kiệt Highway to bridge to ease traffic

HCM CITY — Two ramps from Nguyễn Văn Cừ Bridge linking HCM City’s districts 1 and 8 to the Võ Văn Kiệt Boulevard below were inaugurated on June 29.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Lê Minh Triết, director of the Sài Gòn River Tunnel management centre, which built the ramps, said they would ease traffic flows between districts 1 and 5 on one side of the canal below and districts 4, 7, 8 and others on the other side.

Construction had begun last November at a cost of VNĐ153 billion (US$6.8 million).

N1 is 167.09 metres long and heads westward from the bridge and N2 is 142.15metres long and goes east.

Also taking part in the inaugural ceremony were Lê Văn Khoa, deputy chairman of the city People’s Committee, officials from the Department of Transport, district authorities, and others.

Khoa praised the efforts of the district authorities, the department, the construction workers and local residents in completing the construction five months ahead of schedule.

The ramps are expected to reduce traffic jams, especially at the Nguyễn Văn Cừ-Trần Hưng Đạo intersection, identified as one of the 37 congestion hot spots in the city, he said.

He called for speeding up other infrastructure works too to finish them before the end of August as scheduled.

He listed a road along the Bến Nghé Canal and a drainage system, installation of traffic lights and signs and planting trees. — VNS