People flocked to the West for the New Year holiday, causing traffic congestion on Rach Mieu Bridge connecting Tien Giang - Ben Tre, forcing the BOT station to stop collecting tolls 5 times.
The number of vehicles passing through Rach Mieu Bridge was so high that the BOT station had to release water 5 times. Photo: Hoang Nam
On the morning of December 30, the number of motorbikes from Ho Chi Minh City and the Eastern provinces to the Western region via Rach Mieu Bridge increased dramatically. Traffic police from the two provinces had to continuously divert traffic to prioritize vehicles from Tien Giang to Ben Tre 4 times and twice in the opposite direction.
Due to the large number of vehicles, many cars drove into the motorbike lane, causing a long traffic jam. Motorbikes had to line up more than a kilometer long on the Tien Giang side, waiting for about 20 minutes to cross the bridge.
A line of cars inched past Rach Mieu Bridge at noon on December 30. Photo: Hoang Nam
Mr. Pham Van Truong said that after following the news, most people started returning to their hometowns from yesterday afternoon and evening. This morning, thinking the roads were clear, he drove his wife and young children from Cu Chi to Thanh Phu (Ben Tre), but by noon, due to traffic congestion, it took more than 30 minutes to cross Rach Mieu Bridge.
At around 10am, the Rach Mieu Bridge BOT toll station had to release the toll for 10 minutes in the direction from Ben Tre to Tien Giang. Last night, this station also stopped collecting tolls 4 times due to traffic jams. In the early afternoon, the number of vehicles began to decrease, and traffic returned to normal.
Location of Rach Mieu Bridge 1 and 2. Graphics: Khanh Hoang
The 8.3-kilometer-long Rach Mieu Bridge has been a frequent traffic jam in recent years. Currently, about 20,000 vehicles pass through Rach Mieu Bridge every day, three times the design capacity of the project. Late last year, the Prime Minister approved the construction of Rach Mieu 2 Bridge, 3.8 kilometers from the existing Rach Mieu Bridge. The project has a total investment of VND6,810 billion, starting at the end of March 2023, and is expected to be completed in three years.
Hoang Nam
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