New Dong Nai Bridge opens to traffic

New Dong Nai Bridge opens to traffic

QĐND – Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 21:45 (GMT+7)

A new bridge that links Dong Nai province and Ho Chi Minh City opened to traffic on Dec. 30 after nearly 20 months of construction.

The launching ceremony of the new transport link was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

On addressing the ceremony, the Deputy PM praised the investor and constructors as well as the relevant agencies from both the southern provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong for completing the project within a record period of time.

He underlined that the new bridge crossing Dong Nai River will be extremely beneficial for hauliers and passengers travelling between north and south.

The new bridge connects the two key economic regions of Bien Hoa City in Dong Nai province and Ho Chi Minh City . It will ease the heavy traffic on the current Dong Nai bridge which lies three metres away downstream.

The new bridge will take vehicles travelling towards Ho Chi Minh City while the old one will serve vehicles headed towards Bien Hoa City.

Deputy PM Hai urged the provincial authorities in Dong Nai and Binh Duong and the investor to finish the construction of approach roads.

Construction of the new bridge began in June 2008 under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract with a total investment of 1.8 trillion VND (102 million USD). It is over 461m long and 20m wide and has five lanes.

Source: VNA

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Youth asked to promote traffic safety movement

Volunteers help traffic police deal with violators on National Highway 5. Many of the best student volunteers were honoured in HCM City last week. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Tran

HCM CITY — Young people must be in the vanguard of a national movement to promote road safety by complying with traffic laws, Phan Van Mai, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Youth Federation said last Saturday.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of the three-year “Youth and Traffic Culture” campaign for the southern region, Mai said it was important to increase people’s awareness of the need to observe traffic laws.

One of the main causes for road traffic accidents in the country was the failure to follow traffic regulations, he said.

He called on youth nationwide to take the lead in maintaining traffic safety and order and for disseminating information on traffic laws.

More than 600 young traffic officials and volunteers gathered at the function yesterday to honour their peers for contributions to maintaining traffic order.

From now until 2012, the campaign targets reducing the number of young traffic violators nationwide by 40 per cent, Mai said.

Yesterday’s gathering honoured 64 outstanding young traffic officials and young union members from all 32 provinces and cities in the southern region. —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

Japanese experts tackle Hanoi’s chaotic traffic

Hanoi (VNA) – Experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) helped to train journalists from the Hanoi Traffic Culture Communication Club on Nov. 19, as part of a project promoting traffic safety in the city.

The club, the first of its kind in Vietnam , has been established in order to improve awareness of traffic safety among the city’s residents and authorities, said Takagi Michimasa, JICA’s chief consultant in Vietnam .

In October of this year, a JICA team visited the Hoan Kiem district of Hanoi city, and conducted an experiment in which volunteers, with the help of the police and traffic officers, instructed passengers with regard to road safety and gave them information on how to conform to the nation’s traffic laws, thus increasing their awareness of these issues when travelling on the city’s roads.-

HCM City gates congested by constant traffic

Ho Chi Minh City’s south-western and north-eastern entry points are always congested and polluted due to the constant flow of vehicles into and out of the city.

During peak hours, fleets of trucks, passenger buses, cars, and motorbikes get caught up in traffic snarls and take more than one hour to travel a few kilometres.

People living there suffer daily from smoke and dust.

They do not even open their doors fearing a vehicle could crash into their house. Bui Vu Thanh, a bus driver, said it is the toughest section to drive on Highway 1 A that links HCM City with the southernmost province of Ca Mau .

It now takes almost an hour to travel from the city’s Western Bus Terminal to the south-western gateway, a trip that used to take just 10 ten minutes, according to the driver.

Local officials attribute the increasing traffic jams and accidents on this section to unfinished construction works on both sides of the road. Digging for fly-overs and water supply and drainage projects are also blamed.

Le Minh Hue , People’s Committee deputy chairman of Binh Chanh District – where the south-western entrance is located- said transport authorities need to speed up construction of the An Lac roundabout in the area, widen Highway 1A, and regulate traffic flow to tackle the peak-hour congestion.

At the north-eastern gateway, where a large number of vehicles come from northern, Central Highlands, central, and eastern regions, the plight is similar.

Traffic jams have occurred for long also due to the sluggish progress of installation of water pipes.

Heavy traffic cause air, dust, and noise pollution in the area, distressing people living in the area.

In neighbouring provinces, the situation is quite different. At the entrance to Dong Nai People’s Bien Hoa Township , the roads are smooth and wide, automobile and truck drivers said.-

Mekong Delta traffic exhibition opens

An exhibition showcasing the opportunities and advantages of investing in Mekong Delta infrastructure projects opened in Can Tho city on July 10.

The exhibition lists national and regional traffic projects that are now calling for investment, with more than 37 businesses from across Southeast Asia on show in 50 pavilions.

Car makers are also promoting their achievements and future potential alongside their products, including automobile parts.

The event is part of the Mekong Delta Economic Cooperation (MDEC) Forum held annually. The forum this year highlights transport-related development, that aims to build a complete traffic system in the region to motivate development of other industries, the organising board said.

The exhibition will open until July 12.–