The Tân An City ring road opens up a bright future.

Located approximately 500 meters from the National Highway 1 intersection, the roundabout on the Tan An City Ring Road in Khanh Hau Ward, situated amidst a residential area, is shaped like a multi-petaled flower using ornamental plants.

New Year's joy

Driving along the Tan An City Ring Road, one can see wide, winding sections of road that meander through lush green rice paddies and coconut groves. To ensure the project is completed and put into operation by the end of 2023, provincial and Tan An City leaders, the Department of Transportation, along with contractors and construction units, are focusing their human and material resources on the project.

As of the end of 2023, the road was basically completed, allowing vehicles to travel smoothly along the entire route. The bridge project across the Vam Co Tay River and the Rach Chanh bridge project (the final phase) were also on schedule to connect the entire route.

Previously, at the construction site of the bridge project across the Vam Co Tay River (connecting Binh Tam commune and Nhon Thanh Trung commune), about 100 officials, engineers, and workers were still busy working on the project. Not only working during the day, the workforce also increased their work at night. The bridge project across the Vam Co Tay River is an important component of the road, which commenced construction at the end of 2021. The bridge has 7 spans, is over 400m long, 18.5m wide, with a total cost of over 600 billion VND, and was completed in September 2023, several months ahead of schedule.

Bao Dinh Bridge (connecting Tan Khanh ward and An Vinh Ngai commune) is a beautifully designed bridge on the Tan An City Ring Road.

Nearly 12km out of the total 23km of Tan An City's Ring Road was also opened to traffic in time for the April 30th holiday in 2023 to alleviate traffic pressure. The section opened runs from the Tu Phuong Industrial Cluster (Loi Binh Nhon commune) intersecting National Highway 1 (Tan Khanh and Khanh Hau wards) to Provincial Road 827A (An Vinh Ngai and Binh Tam communes). On this section, the bridge over the Bao Dinh River connecting Tan Khanh ward and An Vinh Ngai commune, after two years of construction, has been completed. This bridge is considered to have a rather beautiful architectural design.

Mr. Nguyen Van Truong, a truck driver, shared: “I regularly transport goods from Tan An City to Chau Thanh District ( Long An Province). Like many other truck drivers, I am very excited that the Tan An City Ring Road has been fully opened to traffic. In the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), traffic is quite heavy, and the new road gives us more options for transportation when passing through the city. Drivers using this road say it's very beautiful, wide, and can shorten travel time compared to going to the city center where the roads are narrow and crowded.”

Sharing the same sentiment as Mr. Truong, Ms. Nguyen Thi Dieu, a resident of Khanh Hau ward, Tan An city, said: “We are very happy that the road has been completed, creating favorable conditions for vehicles to travel conveniently. Traveling from Tan An city to the districts of Thu Thua, Chau Thanh, and Tan Tru is no longer as far as before. Moreover, the air on this road is very cool and refreshing in the afternoon. Many shops and restaurants have sprung up along the road, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere. Travelers stop to have a drink, and local residents leisurely stroll to enjoy the cool, peaceful feeling at the end of the year.”

The Tan An City Ring Road project is approximately 23km long, with a road width of 33m (including the road surface and corridors), passing through Thu Thua District and Tan An City. The starting point is at My Phu intersection (Thu Thua District), and the end point is at the intersection of National Highway 1 and Provincial Road 833 in Tan An City. Within Tan An City, the project passes through the communes of Loi Binh Nhon, An Vinh Ngai, Binh Tam, and Nhon Thanh Trung; and the wards of Khanh Hau, Tan Khanh, District 7, and District 5.

The construction scale includes 4-6 lanes, a bridge system, a drainage system, and a public lighting system, divided into multiple construction packages. The total investment for the component projects is over 3,100 billion VND, of which construction investment costs are over 1,660 billion VND, and land acquisition costs are over 1,440 billion VND.

A vital artery for development.

According to information from the People's Committee of Tan An City, the Tan An City Ring Road is one of the three key projects according to the Resolution of the 10th Provincial Party Congress, term 2015-2020; the Resolution of the 11th Provincial Party Congress identified the completion of the Tan An City Ring Road as one of the three key projects of the 2020-2025 term.

The project, which began implementation in 2016 and commenced construction in 2019, spanned two terms of office, resulting in inconsistencies in communication and mobilization at times. The project affected a significant number of households (1,678) and dragged on for many years due to numerous difficulties and obstacles in compensation and land clearance, as well as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the attention of provincial leaders, relevant departments and agencies, the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, and the determination of the entire political system, the project was completed and opened to traffic along the entire route, bringing joy and excitement to the city's government and people.

The bridge across the Vam Co Tay River is a crucial component of the Tan An City Ring Road.

Upon completion, the project will help alleviate pressure on National Highway 1, the National Highway 1 bypass section through Tan An City, and Hung Vuong and Hung Vuong (extended) roads, diverting traffic to suburban areas. The project also contributes to expanding the gateway to Ho Chi Minh City, connecting the Western provinces with Ho Chi Minh City and the Eastern provinces, and plays a significant role in the development of Tan An City into a Class I urban area.

According to Vo Hong Thao, Acting Chairman of the People's Committee of Tan An City, Tan An City is the central urban area for politics, economics , science and technology, culture and society, and national defense and security of the province. Although Tan An City has a long history, it remains relatively small in scale. Most urban development is still concentrated in the central wards such as wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Meanwhile, the surrounding areas of the city, despite having large land reserves, are difficult to develop due to weak transportation infrastructure.

Therefore, the Tan An City Ring Road project is being implemented not only to create synergy and upgrade urban infrastructure but also to create conditions and impetus for the city's development. The city also has high expectations that, once completed and put into use, the road will create a backbone surrounding the city, opening up new directions for development, especially urban development.

According to Le Cong Dinh, Secretary of the Tan An City Party Committee and Chairman of the Tan An City People's Council, the campaign has been conducted with the motto "Persistence, perseverance, flexibility, persuasion, and effectiveness," combined with monitoring the situation and effectively addressing emerging ideological issues and guiding public opinion. This has contributed to the Tan An City Ring Road having its current new appearance. With the support of the province, especially the working visits by provincial leaders to resolve difficulties and obstacles, and through dialogues with residents involved in the project, the Tan An City Ring Road has been completed on schedule.

In the coming time, the city will continue to maximize the investment efficiency of the road to further develop the city. The Provincial Party Secretary and Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, Nguyen Van Duoc, stated that the completion and commissioning of the Tan An City Ring Road and the bridge across the Vam Co Tay River is of great significance to Tan An City in particular and Long An province in general.

He suggested that attention should be paid to immediately implementing the plan for exploiting land on both sides of the Tan An City Ring Road and connecting roads, ensuring feasible, synchronized, and effective results, in line with the planning orientation of the province and Tan An City, to create new resources and impetus for development in the future.

Thanh Nga

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