Hai Phong overpass to open next year

Hai Phong (VNA) - The first steel overpass in the inner northern city of Hai Phong at the most crowded intersection is expected to be put into operation in January next year.

Construction of the overpass at the Le Hong Phong-Nguyen Binh Khiem intersection started in May this year.

It connects two important routes - Nguyen Binh Khiem Road located on Highway 5 and Le Hong Phong Road, which leads to the Cat Bi International Airport.

This intersection facilitates travel for some 50,000 vehicles per day, often leading to traffic jams and road accidents. In addition, the volume of cargo received at Hai Phong Port has seen a 12-19 percent increase in recent years, which has increased the number of vehicles travelling on Highway 5 and via the intersection.

The overpass has received investment of 310 billion VND (13.95 million USD) sourced from the city’s budget. Once construction is complete, it will be 267.6m long and 16m wide, with four lanes and a maximum speed of 60km per hour.

To help facilitate construction of the overpass, the city’s Transport Department made some traffic adjustment, but that led to public concern as it affected the operation of some businesses.

Tran Van Tam from investor HJC Joint Stock Corporation explained that traffic difficulties for some businesses were inevitable, such as increase in expenses relating to petrol and road fee since vehicles had to take a roundabout route due to the construction of the overpass.

However, if heavy vehicles were still allowed to go through this intersection, it would affect the progress of the project and the quality of the overpass, he said.

From October 7, vehicles with capacity of more than 13 tonnes are required to take a roundabout route to the Hanoi-Hai Phong highway, instead of the Nguyen Binh Khiem and Le Hong Phong roads, from 5am to 11pm.-VNA