The elevated section of Ring road No.2 from Nga Tu So to Vinh Tuy Bridge and the widened ground stretch are scheduled to open to traffic next week.

Ring road No.2 is scheduled to open for traffic next week. File photo

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Duong Duc Tuan gave the information during a city’s meeting on January 5.

The Ring road No.2 section Vinh Tuy – Nga Tu So, including both the elevated and the ground stretches, is estimated to cost over VND9.4 trillion (US$400 million). With a length of 43.6km, the Ring road No.2 would form a traffick ring in Hanoi running through Vinh Tuy  – Minh Khai – Dai La – Nga Tu Vong – Truong Chinh – Nga Tu So – Lang – Cau Giay – Buoi – Nhat Tan – Vinh Ngoc – Dong Hoi – Gia Lam tunnel – Hanel industrial park – Vinh Tuy.

Under the project’s design, the elevated stretch runs for five kilometers, from south of Vinh Tuy Bridge to the Nga Tu So crossing.

Once completed, the elevated part would help bolster the connectivity of three downtown districts of Dong Da, Thanh Xuan, and Hai Ba Trung while addressing traffic congestion on the streets of Truong Chinh, Dai La, and Minh Khai.

The project kicked off in 2018 but was partially interrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hanoi, with a population of 10 million and seven million personal vehicles, is facing increasing pressure due to rapid urbanization.

Over the past 10 years, the number of cars has increased 30-fold, reaching one million by 2022. On average, the number of transport vehicles grew by 4-5% per year, but the land used for urban transport only increased by 0.28%.