The number of vehicles travelling through Hai van tunnels 1 and 2 has sharply increased on Tet holidays with an average of between 11,000 and 14,000 a day.
Both tunnels that have been put into operation during lunar New Year help reduce congestion and the number of traffic accidents as well as save travel time for vehicles crossing the tunnels from 15 minutes down to 6 minutes.
On January 11, the 6.2km long two-lane Hai Van Tunnel 2, which is the longest road tunnel in Southeast Asia and runs parallel to the Tunnel 1, was inaugurated.
Started 4 years ago at an investment capital of more than VND8,516 billion (US$370 million), the construction is expected to reduce traffic pressure for the current Hai Van Road Tunnel 1, shorten travel time between Thua Thien-Hue and Da Dang, meet transport demand on East-West Economic Corridor that links Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam, and contribute to the development of transport infrastructure of the country.
The newly-inaugurated tunnel was planned to open to traffic from February 1-20 (from the 20th day of the last lunar month to the 10th day of the first lunar month) to reduce traffic pressure during the Tet holiday and then temporarily close for State agencies to solve investors’ petitions.
