Traffic congestion was reported along the five-kilometre stretch of National Highway 1A from HCM City to the Dong Nai Bridge as vehicles queued up to pay tolls today.
Traffic congestion was reported along the five-kilometre stretch of National Highway 1A from HCM City to the Dong Nai Bridge as vehicles queued up to pay tolls yesterday.
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| Traffic congestion was reported along the five-kilometre stretch of National Highway 1A from HCM City to the Dong Nai Bridge. |
Employees of the Dong Nai Bridge Construction Investment Joint Stocks Company, the toll collector, had to leave the barriers at the toll stations unattended and halt the toll collection for about 20 minutes to resolve the traffic congestion, which did not abate even once the toll collection resumed.
Company Director General Le Hong Son blamed the congestion to the unfamiliarity of both workers at the toll stations and drivers because today was the first day for toll collection at the bridge.
About 39,000 to 40,000 vehicles use the bridge daily.
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| Many drivers say the location of the toll stations is to blame for causing the congestion. |
Many drivers said the location of the toll stations was at the foot of the bridge, which was too close to the Vung Tau Intersection, just about 500 metres away, and that this had led to the congestion.
The toll-collection company said it expected the collection process to run smoothly in the following days.
It would seek a solution for the congestion if this still happened, the company representative said.
The construction of the bridge and the approach roads, including the Tan Van flyover, a tunnel, the Vung Tau intersection and the Tan Van intersection, began in June 2008, and ended in January 2015.
The investor, Construction Corporation No 1, had spent nearly VND1.9 trillion ($88 million) on the project. The toll point uses a non-stop toll collection technology.
The tolls range from VND15,000 (US$0.7) per journey for vehicles with less than 12 seats or those weighing less than two-tonnes, such as trucks and buses, to VND120,000 ($5.6) per journey for trucks with a capacity of more than 10 tonnes or 40-feet-long containers.
(Source:VNS)
