Relatives of a patient had to get out of their car and ask drivers to clear a path to the hospital during a morning traffic jam near Ho Chi Minh City's Bảy Hiền intersection.
On the morning of October 14, the fifth day after traffic arrangements were changed around the Bảy Hiền intersection for construction of Metro Line 2, Bến Thành – Tham Lương, roads around the area were congested again, especially at the Lý Thường Kiệt – Lạc Long Quân junction. After 8 a.m., traffic on Lý Thường Kiệt near Thống Nhất Hospital grew heavier. Cars and motorbikes moved slowly through the intersections.
At the junction, left-turning and right-turning traffic crossed paths, and movement at times nearly stopped. Many vehicles had to wait a long time before getting through.
An ambulance with its priority siren on repeatedly asked for space but struggled to move because there was no room ahead. The driver could only inch forward. A yellow-plate service car carrying a woman who needed emergency care faced a similar situation.
Patient's relative asks drivers to make way near Bảy Hiền
The driver kept honking and reached a hand out of the window to signal for space, but the surrounding vehicles were also stuck. A young man, a relative of the patient, leaned out and shouted: "Please make way for someone going to the hospital."
When the traffic still did not move, the man got out and, together with several local residents, tried to direct vehicles. They went to cars ahead and asked drivers to open a path.
After some difficulty, the car carrying the patient crossed the junction and continued to the hospital.
Residents also said that officers were stationed around the barriers at Bảy Hiền, but the Lý Thường Kiệt – Lạc Long Quân junction still became severely congested at times when traffic near the intersection was moving more freely.
Why traffic is congested around Bảy Hiền
According to Thanh Niên, traffic was heavier on the morning of October 14 because several roads near Lê Thị Riêng Park were being diverted from a distance for the transport of the remains of fallen soldiers to Ho Chi Minh City's cemetery.
Authorities also put the barrier back at an opening in the median near Bảy Hiền. Thanh Niên had previously reported that people were crossing the road there on their own, creating a safety risk.
Construction of the central station of Metro Line 2 on Trường Chinh Street has reduced the roadway from 10 lanes to four, creating a bottleneck. The work is expected to last about three years.
Trường Chinh Street already carried heavy traffic and regularly came under pressure during peak hours.
To reduce congestion, traffic police are using a flexible plan on the available roadway. In the morning, when more vehicles enter the Bảy Hiền area from the outskirts, officers add a lane for that direction. In the afternoon, they reverse the arrangement and remain on duty to direct traffic.
Traffic police advise residents to avoid Trường Chinh Street unless necessary and choose alternative routes. They have also added about 100 signs showing roads and alleys that motorbikes can use when Trường Chinh is congested.
Sources: Thanh Niên
