Spacious streetfront required on new road
By Le Anh - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC – Commercial buildings along a new road connecting Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Binh Loi Bridge and Outer Beltway are requested to have ample roadfront space so they don’t affect traffic flow.
Developing street houses adjacent to this route is also restricted, says a HCMC government decision on urban design and management of space, architecture and landscape along the Tan Son Nhat-Binh Loi-Outer Beltway road.
According to Decision 3258/QD-UBND, there should be a bus rapid transit (BRT) system and pedestrian-only overpasses.
Apart from commercial buildings, public works are required to have large streetfront spaces to avoid affecting traffic. Entrances and parking lots must be located behind or next to these structures.
Regarding urban architecture, the decision highlights the city’s aim to build low-rise adjacent houses with synchronous and harmonious architecture.
HCMC sets urban designs for the roads under construction such as Tan Son Nhat-Binh Loi-Outer Beltway road and expanded Hanoi Highway in a bid to prevent patchwork architecture like the current situation on Vo Van Kiet Boulevard and other routes.
At present, the construction progress of the new road only meets 54% of the schedule. However, by the end of the year, the 4.4-km section from Nguyen Thai Son Street to Binh Trieu Bridge will be opened to traffic.
Bui Xuan Cuong, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Transport, said so far only Binh Thanh District had handed over cleared site to the contractor. There are still 135 households yet to relocate, including 34 in Thu Duc District, 65 in Go Vap District, and 36 in Tan Binh District.
Under the commitment to the HCMC government, the three districts will have to hand over the cleared sites in August.
As for the remaining section from Binh Trieu Intersection to the end of the route (Linh Xuan Intersection in Thu Duc), it will take some time to handle the soft soil and deep mud pockets. This section is expected to be opened to traffic in late 2013.
The Tan Son Nhat-Binh Loi-Outer Beltway road project with a total length of 13.7 km passes through four districts – Tan Binh, Go Vap, Binh Thanh and Thu Duc, with 3,900 households to be displaced. The road starts at Truong Son Intersection (near Tan Son Nhat airport), running through Nguyen Thai Son Roundabout in Go Vap District, crossing the Saigon River, and ending at Linh Xuan Intersection in Thu Duc District.
This is one of the lifeblood traffic routes of HCMC. After completion, it will connect the city’s downtown with the surrounding satellite urban areas and the neighboring provinces such as Binh Duong and Dong Nai.