Construction of Saigon 2 Bridge starts

April 14, 2012 | 15:29

(0) user say

Traffic jams at Ho Chi Minh City’s northeastern gateway are to ease with the Saigon 2 Bridge hitting top gear in 2014.

At the ground-breaking ceremony of the $72 million project bridge this week, developer Ho Chi Minh Infrastructure Investment’s director Le Vu Hoang pledged to put in extra hours to get the bridge ready to address the city’s traffic chaos.

Le Hoang Quan, Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee chairman, said: “The bridge is one of the most important projects in the city. It will not only reduce traffic pressure on the current Saigon bridge, which is daily travelled by 40,000 vehicles, but also improve traffic from the city centre to the outskirts, including districts 2, 9 and Thu Duc.”

The Saigon 2 Bridge will be located at three kilometres from the current Saigon Bridge to the lower of the Saigon River, at 913 metres in length and 23.5m in width with four lanes. Currently, Ho Chi Minh Infrastructure Investment has not received land in District 2 and Binh Thanh district for the project’s construction, so the bridgehead in District 2 would be first developed.

After being completed, Saigon 2 Bridge will be connected to Dien Bien Phu street by a 350m road and also link with Hanoi Highway. The roads below the bridge will be adjusted to become suitable to the current Saigon bridge and the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien railway viaduct.

At that time, Saigon 2 Bridge will be used for vehicles travelling from the city’s centre to Thu Duc district and the current Saigon Bridge will be used for vehicles from Thu Duc district to the city’s heart.
The project is conducted under the build-transfer model.