Hanoi repairs Long Bien bridge, bans afternoon traffic to city center

Long Bien Bridge temporarily closed traffic to downtown Hanoi until the end of the year for repairs, causing traffic to rush to Chuong Duong Bridge, causing traffic conflicts and local congestion.

On the morning of October 29, many residents in the Long Bien area, when moving into the city center, were surprised to see that Long Bien bridge was blocked and could not be moved. Because there was no prior notice of the temporary ban, thousands of vehicles had to go around Chuong Duong bridge, causing a traffic jam that lasted from early morning.

A rudimentary prohibition sign was placed right in front of the entrance to Long Bien bridge in Bo De ward.

The sudden closure of Long Bien Bridge to vehicles caused long-term congestion on the roads leading to Chuong Duong Bridge such as Xuan Quan, Nguyen Van Cu, Ngoc Lam, Ai Mo... due to the sudden increase in the number of vehicles.

Traffic density on Chuong Duong bridge increased.

In an interview with reporters, Ha Hai Railway Joint Stock Company (the unit managing Long Bien Bridge) said that the road for non-motorized vehicles on Long Bien Bridge (from Bo De Ward to Hoan Kiem Ward, Hanoi ) is currently being fenced off to serve periodic repair work.

Accordingly, on October 27, the Hanoi Department of Construction issued a construction permit to the Railway Project Management Board 1 - Vietnam Railway Corporation to fence off the edge of Tran Nhat Duat Street to serve traffic organization and diversion for periodic construction and repair of Tran Nhat Duat Bridge Km2+215, Hanoi - Dong Dang railway line.

The fence blocked the entire entrance to the bridge.

To facilitate the construction, the authorities have allowed the fencing and banning of the entire road for non-motorized vehicles on Long Bien Bridge, from Bo De Ward to Hoan Kiem Ward, for 65 days (from October 27 to December 31). At the same time, the edge of Tran Nhat Duat Street will be fenced off.

During the construction period, vehicles passing Long Bien Bridge (from Bo De Ward to Hoan Kiem Ward) will take Long Bien - Xuan Quan Road via Chuong Duong Bridge. The construction unit must fully arrange the sign system (construction site signs, slow-down signs, other danger signs, etc.), coordinate with the Traffic Police force to ensure traffic safety in the construction area and the entrance to the construction site.

Because there was no prior notice of the bridge being closed for repairs, many people with daily commuting habits still traveled here and had to turn around and go to Chuong Duong bridge.

For many cyclists, the bridge ban causes difficulties in finding a way to get to the city center because Chuong Duong bridge prohibits bicycles and non-motorized vehicles.

Also according to Traffic Police Team No. 5 (Traffic Police Department of Hanoi City Police), as of this morning (October 29), the unit has not yet received any notice from the construction unit after arbitrarily erecting barriers on Long Bien Bridge, leading to traffic congestion in the above area.

However, in the spirit of ensuring traffic safety for people, immediately after receiving the above information from the press, the unit promptly dispatched officers to the scene to organize traffic flow, guide people to move smoothly, and avoid congestion.

Officers of Traffic Police Team No. 5 guide and regulate traffic flow at the entrance to Long Bien Bridge.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/Xa-hoi/ha-noi-sua-cau-long-bien-cam-chieu-sang-trung-tam-thanh-pho-i786243/