In hopes of alleviating congestion in the area surrounding Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Saigon recently broke ground on two overpass projects in Go Vap District.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held yesterday morning, February 8, by municipal authorities, reports Zing.
The first project will travel over the Nguyen Thai Son Roundabout in the shape of a letter “N” – as shown in the top image – connecting traffic on Hoang Minh Giam and Nguyen Kiem Streets with Nguyen Thai Son Street. The overpass is expected to be completed in ten months and cost VND504 billion (US$22.2 million).
The second project is a 4.75-meter-tall two-prong overpass, linking Truong Son Street with both the domestic and international terminals. This overpass will include two sections, one 153.8 meters long and the other 303.8 meters long. This Truong Son connector will take up VND242 billion (US$10.7 million) of the city’s budget, to be completed over six months, reports Tuoi Tre.
Saigon’s rate of development has far outpaced its only airport’s capacity. In recent years, Tan Son Nhat has faced overcrowding inside its terminals, on the surrounding streets and even in the skies. Coming up with solutions to ease this overcrowding is one of the municipal government's most urgent goals, meaning it didn’t take officials long to greenlight these two overpass projects.
Recently, others have also tried their hand at brainstorming ideas to improve traffic around Tan Son Nhat: one company even suggested a cable car system to deliver passengers straight from Hoang Van Thu Park to the terminals.
The city's long-term solution continues to be the construction of Long Thanh International Airport in neighboring Dong Nai province, which is slowly taking shape as the government finally decided on a design for the airport not long ago.
[Photos via Zing]
