Series of cars fall into "potholes" at An Phu intersection turning onto Ho Chi Minh City

On September 28, representatives of Road Department 1 (HCMC Traffic Department) received feedback from many car drivers about the peeling and sinking road surface around An Phu intersection.

Responding to reporters from Giao thong Newspaper, a representative of Road Department 1 confirmed that they had requested the contractor to patch and resurface the damaged areas tonight to ensure traffic safety.

The An Phu intersection project started construction at the end of 2022 with a total investment of more than 3,400 billion VND, expected to be completed on April 30, 2025 with many parallel construction items such as underpasses, overpasses, and branch bridges. The project must mobilize hundreds of heavy trucks to serve the construction to ensure progress.

The number of vehicles turning left from Mai Chi Tho Street onto the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway, up to hundreds of thousands of vehicles per day, is also the main reason why An Phu intersection is overloaded and the road surface is damaged.

Loạt ô tô sụp — Panoramic view of An Phu intersection, the left branch is the turnoff road to the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway.

According to Giao thong Newspaper reporters, the section from Mai Chi Tho street, turning left about 500m into the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway is full of potholes. The potholes are interwoven along the direction of the turn into the expressway, causing most car drivers to fall into a hole but have no choice.

"I discovered a pothole in front of me but couldn't change lanes because the surroundings were crowded. If I stopped suddenly, the car behind me would hit me. This situation would be extremely dangerous, causing the tire to be at high risk of being crushed or cracked after the collision, leading to a traffic accident," said Mr. Minh (38 years old), a daily commuter on the road.

A worker at the project shared that there were many locations that had just been filled with asphalt concrete for about a week but continued to peel off due to continuous rain.

The An Phu intersection is low but has no drainage system, so it has to be pumped manually. Furthermore, the traffic density is too high, so it cannot always be patched.

Closing just one lane for construction will cause serious congestion. Therefore, patching can only be done at night if the weather is not rainy.

A representative of the Cat Lai Traffic Police Team, the unit in charge of patrolling the intersection area, said that they have received many complaints from the people about the above situation. The fear of "potholes" and the inching of drivers causes the entire traffic flow to be congested while this location always needs to be cleared quickly.

The Inspector of the HCM City Department of Transport said that he had reminded the investor about the above problem and requested regular supervision and correction during the period when the underpass has not been completed.

"The problem is that the contractor is still constructing the underpass and the abutments of the branch overpass, so it is not possible to restore and upgrade the entire tunnel roof surface, including the lanes where peeling has occurred.

This problem is related to technical solutions and schedule differences, so we have to wait until the project is in its final stages to fully resolve it," he shared.

Some images recorded by Giao Thong Newspaper reporters: