Half of major expressway ready this year

04:10, 21/10/2013

More than a half of the 55-km HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway will be opened to traffic late this year as pledged by the contractor.

More than a half of the 55-km HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway will be opened to traffic late this year as pledged by the contractor.

 

An elevated section of HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway.
An elevated section of HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway.

Motorists can start using a 23-km section connecting HCMC’s District 9 and National Highway 51 in Dong Nai Province, according to project owner Vietnam Expressway Corporation.

Contractors on Tuesday joined the main span of Long Thanh Bridge, the biggest bridge on the expressway, which crosses the Dong Nai River and connects HCMC and Dong Nai.

With a total length of 3.1 kilometers and a width of 19.7 meters, the four-lane bridge is designed for vehicles to travel at a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

In May this year contractors and the project owner signed a pledge with the Ministry of Transport to open the HCMC-Long Thanh section to traffic late this year and complete the entire expressway late next year.

HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway costs a total of VND18.88 trillion, with VND9.89 trillion used for the first phase and sourced from ODA loans.

As an important component of the north-south expressway, HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway is a vital road linkage in the key southern economic region as it helps shorten the distance between HCMC, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, and quicken goods transport to and from Cai Mep-Thi Vai port complex.

(Source: SGT)