Thousands of vehicles poured towards the entrances of Hanoi and HCMC on Thursday as people traveled home or to tourist sites for the National Day holiday.
Lines of vehicles spanning over 3 km on the Ring Road 3 sections through Khuat Duy Tien and Nguyen Xien streets can be seen at 5 p.m. This is the southwestern entrance to Hanoi, which is usually crowded during holidays.This year's National Day holiday lasts four days from Friday to Monday.The four lanes of Giai Phong Ctreet at an intersection with the Nuoc Ngam Bus Station are choke-full of vehicles. Authorities have been at the site since the afternoon to coordinate traffic and prevent congestion.Three traffic police officers have been stationed at the location from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., and there could be more reinforcements if more vehicles come.At the same time, the Ngoc Hoi Street, connecting with the old National Highway 1A, is also full of vehicles travelling towards the suburbs and provinces near Hanoi like Ha Nam, Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh.In the hot weather, a man drives a motorbike packed with many bags, a mattress and a mini gas tank.On the Vinh Tuy 2 Bridge's direction towards Long Bien District, traffic has been congested since 4 p.m. Many people went onto the bridge to get to National Highway 5 and travel to Hung Yen, Hai Duong and Hai Phong.Vinh Tuy 2 Bridge was opened to the public on Wednesday to relieve traffic burden from Vinh Tuy 1 Bridge, which was built 10 years prior.In HCMC, starting 5 p.m., certain streets leading towards Tan Son Nhat Airport like Hoang Van Thu, Cong Hoa and Phan Thuc Duyen, saw traffic jams.A Hoang Van Thu street section near the Lang Cha Ca overpass, for example, has lines of vehicle spanning around 500 m.On the Kinh Duong Vuong street section near the An Lac Roundabout of Binh Tan District, a gateway leading to localities in the Mekong Delta, thousands of vehicles have been stuck since 4 p.m.Vehicles are packed on Kinh Duong Vuong Street.A woman and a child on a motorbike inches forward bit by bit in the traffic jam.At the An Phu Intersection that connects HCMC with eastern neighbors, thousands of vehicles line up on Mai Chi Tho Street and the road leading onto the Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway.Once the Dau Giay-Phan Thiet Expressway was opened to the public, the number of cars going onto the HCMC-Dau Giay Expressway has markedly increased, according to the Vietnam Expressway Services Engineering company.The section from An Phu to the intersection with the Dau Giay-Phan Thiet Expressway sees 58,000-62,000 vehicles a day on average, and the figure could rise to 70,000-73,000 during peak periods, twice its designed capacity. As such, the company has recommended people to choose another route instead to avoid traffic jams during the National Day holiday.
