Highways congested as millions return to Ho Chi Minh City after Tet holiday

Authorities reported heavy traffic jams at key points including the Dong Tam intersection, the Than Cuu Nghia roundabout, the entrance to the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong Expressway, and the Luong Phu intersection.

Cars and motorbikes crowded the roads, moving slowly and at times coming to a complete standstill.

At the Dong Tam intersection in the early afternoon, vehicles stretched for kilometers.

Traffic bottlenecks worsened at the Than Cuu Nghia roundabout, where vehicles from National Highway 1 attempted to enter the expressway, creating long queues.

By 4:00 pm the same day, the expressway entrance was blocked, allowing only ambulances to access the expressway and permitting motorcycles to use the parallel road to reach Ho Chi Minh City.

Cars were diverted back to National Highway 1, which in turn caused extended congestion at the Trung Luong and Luong Phu intersections.

Nguyen Hong Khanh, 34, from Dong Thap, said his family left early in the morning but still faced traffic jams near the expressway entrance.

“The jam stretched about three to four kilometers," he said.

“Thanks to traffic police guiding drivers from afar, I switched to route N2 and rejoined the expressway later, saving time compared to waiting."

Tran Thi My Linh, 28, from Can Tho, said that traffic on the sixth day of Tet, which lasted from February 14 to Sunday, is typically heavy every year.

“It was crowded this year too, but there were more route options," she said.

“My family returned [to Ho Chi Minh City] early in the morning, so we avoided the afternoon peak."

Traffic police in Dong Thap were deployed continuously at congestion points, directing vehicles from a distance and using loudspeakers to instruct drivers to switch to National Highway 30 or route N2 to ease pressure on National Highway 1 and the expressway entrance.

Despite these efforts, traffic volume remained overwhelming, leaving most intersections overloaded throughout the day.