Ho Chi Minh City installs first solar-powered automated median barrier on Cong Hoa Street

Workers rushed to complete the installation of the automated barrier system on Cong Hoa Street on Sunday night.

The project marks the first deployment of a solar-powered automated median barrier in the city.

Following a pilot period, the system will be expanded to several other locations along Cong Hoa Street.

A representative of Dong Phuong Engineering Joint Stock Company, the contractor responsible for the installation, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the project was carried out under the direction of the Public Transport Management Center under the municipal Department of Construction.

The new solution is expected to reduce the workload and manpower required for traffic police officers during peak-hour traffic control.

Previously, movable median barriers had to be manually repositioned, requiring significant labor.

Inspired by electrically powered automated barriers, Doan Nguyen Vu, 40, production manager at Dong Phuong, researched and developed a solar-powered alternative aimed at improving operational efficiency, reducing costs, and minimizing the need for underground electrical infrastructure.

The automated median barrier is some 30 meters long and can be operated remotely.

The remote-control devices were handed over to traffic police officers, allowing them to open or close the intersection depending on real-time traffic conditions.

Since May 15, the city has operated a reversible lane system on Cong Hoa Street during morning rush hour, with four lanes allocated for traffic traveling from An Suong toward downtown Ho Chi Minh City and two lanes for the opposite direction.

In the afternoon, the arrangement is reversed, giving priority to outbound traffic with four lanes, while two lanes are reserved for vehicles heading into the city center.

The system allows lane allocation to be adjusted according to actual traffic flow at different times of the day, instead of maintaining a fixed three-lane division in each direction.

At intersections such as Tan Ky Tan Quy and Ap Bac, authorities also deployed movable barriers to temporarily close intersections during peak periods in an effort to ease traffic pressure.