Traffic initiative backfires on first day of trial in Ho Chi Minh City
A long line of vehicles built up along Cong Hoa Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Binh District during Monday afternoon’s rush hour as police tested a new traffic flow intended to ease congestion in the area.
The plan had been to implement a one-way traffic system on the Hoang Hoa Tham flyover on Cong Hoa Street in order to relieve pressure on the nearby Lang Cha Ca intersection, two kilometers from the city’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
The new arrangement would be enforced during morning and afternoon rush hours, according to the plan.
However, thousands of motorbikes and cars were quickly caught in a heavy traffic jam that stretched out for kilometers on the first day of a planned trial on Monday afternoon.
Smaller streets connecting Cong Hoa Street were also congested as a result.
“Traffic congestion has been a daily occurrence in this area, but the new traffic arrangement only makes matters worse,” said Le Thanh Toan, a local resident living just opposite the flyover. “We are all unhappy [with the plan].”
Check out photos of the traffic jam on Cong Hoa Street on Monday afternoon captured by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper’s photojournalist Huu Khoa.
