A number of steel flyovers built recently have helped reduce congestion in Ho Chi Minh City and proven an effective measure to cope with traffic jams.

To date, six steel flyovers have opened to traffic in the southern hub, all of which are located at serious congestion-prone areas, especially during rush hours.

Among those, the Thu Duc flyover, built in July last year, is 570 metres long and 16 metres wide. The four-lane flyover is designed for automobile access only with a maximum speed of 60km per hour.

Another one is Hang Xanh intersection flyover that is located on the existing Dien Bien Phu street in Binh Thanh district. The four-lane flyover, which is 390m long and 16m wide, has a designed speed of 40km per hour.

Those two flyovers opened to traffic on the same day, January 27, 2013, one to two months earlier than planned.

The Lang Cha Ca steel flyover was the third opened to traffic on April 30, the Liberation Day. The flyover is 244m long and 6.5m wide. It has two lanes: one lane for motorbikes and the other for automobiles of under 10 tonnes, both running from Cong Hoa to Hoang Van Thu streets.

Two more steel flyovers opened to traffic on the same day, on August 27. The two-lane Feb.3 - Nguyen Tri Phuong–Ly Thai To flyover in District 10 is more than 388m long and nearly 10m wide, while the two-lane Cong Hoa-Hoang Hoa Tham flyover is 268m long and nearly 10m wide.

The two steel flyovers were finished one month earlier than planned after four months of construction.

The longest steel flyover that opened to traffic most recently, on October 19, is the Cay Go roundabout flyover on Feb. 3 Street.

The Y-shaped flyover is formed by two branches – one branch is 350m long and 12-15.5m wide, connecting with Hong Bang Street, and the other branch is 230m long and 6.5m wide linked to Feb.3 Street.

The Cay Go roundabout flyover was built in five months at a cost of 339.3 billion VND (16.1 million USD). It plays a key role in reducing traffic as the roundabout is an important gateway that connects the city centre with the southwestern region.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport said it had thought carefully in choosing the locations for building those six steel flyovers in order to clear major congestion-prone areas in the city. It said there would be more steel flyovers built in the future to cope with traffic congestion.

However, many experts have said the steel flyovers are just a temporary solution. They recommended that besides steel flyovers at intersections, the city develop public transport such as a metro and monorails to deal with traffic congestion, a serious problem in large cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.-VNA