HCMC-Mekong Delta expressway extension heads for upcoming Lunar New Year holiday (Tet) opening
Work has speeded up on a HCMC-Mekong Delta expressway extension towards opening it to traffic by the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.
Work on the extended section, called the Trung Luong – My Thuan Expressway, is 85 percent complete. It will link to the HCMC – Trung Luong Expressway in Chau Thanh District of Mekong Delta’s Tien Giang Province.The 51-km (32 miles) extension passes through the province’s five districts, starting at the Than Cuu Nghia Intersection in Chau Thanh District where the HCMC – Trung Luong Expy ends, and going up to National Highway 30 at the An Thai Trung Intersection in Cai Be District.
Work on the extended section, called the Trung Luong – My Thuan Expressway, is 85 percent complete.
It will link to the HCMC – Trung Luong Expressway in Chau Thanh District of Mekong Delta’s Tien Giang Province.
The 51-km (32 miles) extension passes through the province’s five districts, starting at the Than Cuu Nghia Intersection in Chau Thanh where the HCMC – Trung Luong Expressway ends, and going up to National Highway 30 at the An Thai Trung Intersection in Cai Be District.
Almost 1,500 employees, including engineers and manual laborers workers, are working on completing the project.
The expressway has 39 bridges that have been basically completed.
Work on the Trung Luong – My Thuan Expressway will be fully completed by the end of this year so that it can open to traffic for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday. This year, Tet falls on Feb. 1, 2022.
After 12 years of construction, the expressway was partially open for the last Tet holiday, which fell in February this year.
Work on the project began in 2009. Initially expected to cost VND14 trillion ($606 million) and be completed in 2013, it has been plagued by delays with the main investor being changed several times.
Last year, the cost was revised downwards to VND12 trillion after several adjustments and the government ordered that the work be completed by 2021.
For now, the HCMC – Mekong Delta Expressway is the only expressway linking the delta with the rest of the nation.
National Highways 1A and 50 are the only links between HCMC and the delta, which is home to around 20 million people, or a fifth of Vietnam’s population.
The Tet holiday usually sees millions of people hit the road from major cities and industrial provinces towards their hometowns every year. A reverse rush happens as people return to work.
Source: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/hcmc-mekong-delta-expressway-extension-heads-for-tet-opening-4384706.html
