At 10:30pm on February 1 (the fourth day of Tet), the final stretch of the Phap Van - Cau Gie Expressway, passing through Hoang Mai District, Hanoi, was packed with thousands of cars queuing to enter the elevated Ring Road 3 and head toward the city center.

Four lanes of vehicles moved at an estimated speed of only 10-15 km/h, forming a traffic jam nearly 5 kilometers long.

Nguyen Thi Huong, a resident of Thanh Hoa, shared that it took her family about five hours to drive from Thanh Hoa to the end of the Phap Van - Cau Gie Expressway. Due to the high volume of traffic, they could only move slowly throughout the journey.

The Highway Patrol Unit No. 3 (under the Traffic Police Department) deployed officers in coordination with the expressway management unit to regulate traffic flow. They adjusted the opening and closing of interchanges with the elevated Ring Road 3 to ease congestion.

At the expressway's end near Do Muoi Street (Hoang Mai District), cars formed long lines. A similar situation occurred on the elevated Ring Road 3 in the direction of Mai Dich.

On-ramps leading to the elevated road and Do Muoi Street (toward Mai Dich) remained packed with vehicles well into the night.

At times, traffic came to a complete standstill.

The congestion extended to Nghiem Xuan Yem Street (Hoang Mai District), continuing toward Khuat Duy Tien.

The Traffic Police Department forecasts that the number of vehicles returning to Hanoi will continue to rise on key routes on February 2. In addition to deploying mobile motorbike patrols to manage traffic, the Traffic Guidance and Escort Division will coordinate with Hanoi Police to monitor vehicle flow and advise residents to choose suitable travel routes.

Dinh Hieu