From early morning on February 11, the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, many residents began travelling home for the Lunar New Year, leading to long tailbacks on the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay and Phan Thiet-Dau Giay expressways.
The Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway through Xuan Que Commune, Dong Nai Province, experience prolonged congestion on February 11 (Photo: Hong Diem).
Vehicles heading towards Lam Dong and other central provinces were moving at a crawl, with congestion reported from around 4 am.
On the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway, the section through Xuan Que Commune was heavily congested before the rest stop, with a steady flow of private cars and coaches.
Diem, a manager at a shop at the expressway rest area, said vehicles began queuing in large numbers from 4 am. She said the traffic jam stretched from the Long Thanh airport construction site to the toll booth leading into the Phan Thiet–Dau Giay expressway.
Traffic is congested from 4 am on February 11 on the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway heading towards the central provinces (Photo: CTV).
Drivers also shared images of congestion on social media, showing long lines of vehicles on both routes.
Le Van Tuan, 42, from Hue, said his family left Bien Hoa at 4 am but was still stuck nearly three hours later at the Phan Thiet-Dau Giay toll booth.
“Everyone thought leaving early would avoid traffic, but there were too many vehicles heading home,” he said. “I hope once we get past the bottleneck at the toll booth, the expressway will clearer.”
Drivers said the stretch from the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay rest stop to the Phan Thiet-Dau Giay toll booth is frequently congested during peak Tet travel.
Although non-stop electronic toll collection is in place, motorists said traffic still slows sharply when passing through the toll area, causing prolonged tailbacks.
