From morning until noon on 16/7, vehicles inched along near the Dong Nai bridge at the eastern gateway to Ho Chi Minh City. Along the route, authorities posted notices about the closure of provincial road 743 and provided alternative routes around the Tan Van interchange.

The closure of provincial road 743 through Ho Chi Minh City is for the construction of the Tan Van interchange (part of Ring Road 3), which began on 17/5. This key interchange is expected to open next year.

Construction workers directed traffic under the Tan Van overpass.

The Dong Nai bridge was jammed for kilometers, with vehicles barely moving.

Vehicles converged at a bottleneck at the old toll station near the Dong Nai bridge in Tran Bien ward, Dong Nai province.

At one point, 9 lanes of cars were seen waiting to cross the Dong Nai bridge on National Highway 51.

A 7-seater car stood still in traffic on National Highway 1A in Tran Bien ward.

Many cars attempted to bypass the jam by driving in the motorcycle lane, but were unsuccessful. Motorcyclists were forced onto the sidewalk.

The driver of bus number 602 signaled to turn left onto the Tan Van overpass.

Drivers looked tired in their cabins. Many used their phones for entertainment or bought lunch from vendors while waiting. "There's nowhere to go for lunch now, so I'm having a sandwich while I wait for the road to clear," one driver said.

Nguyen Thanh Ho, a delivery driver traveling from Dong Nai to Ho Chi Minh City, inched his vehicle forward near the Dong Nai bridge. "I've been waiting for over half an hour and have only moved 2 km," he said.

In addition to National Highway 1A, a nearly 5-kilometer traffic jam formed on National Highway 51 near Long Hung ward in Dong Nai province.

Phuoc Tuan - Quynh Tran