Work on the above ground section of Saigon's first metro line is in full swing. Along with the construction of a rail bridge across the Saigon River and the installation of concrete girders, the city's transport authorities have announced that work has begun on a flyover across the Hanoi Highway.
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According to the municipal Urban Railway Management Board, the elevated structure will be built by Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation which has been contracted to provide construction and engineering work for the entire route, reports Tuoi Tre.
The flyover will stand 4.75 meters over the road surface, will be 250 meters long and 11 meters wide, allowing it to accommodate two tracks, one leading to downtown Saigon and the other to Suoi Tien in District 9.
While municipal authorities didn’t say exactly where along the Hanoi Highway the Y-shaped overpass was being constructed, it said that the remaining four flyovers are being built above the Saigon River, the Rach Chiec Canal, Dien Bien Phu Street and Van Thanh Canal.
The US$2.17 billion line is due to be finished in 2019 and operational in 2020 - 2021. However, the metro’s management panel said that the 17km above ground section, of which these flyovers are part, might go into operation in 2018, three years before the full line is completed.
Under the city’s master development plan, eight metro lines and three monorail lines will be built in the coming years.
The city has already begun construction on its first three metro lines: Metro Line No 1 (linking Ben Thanh Market in District 1 with Suoi Tien Tourist Park in District 9); Metro Line No 2 (connecting Ben Thanh Market with Tham Luong Bus Station in District 12) and Metro Line No 5 (linking Can Giuoc Bus Station in Binh Chanh District with Tham Luong in District 12).
In June, city authorties said they were getting ready to start construction of Saigon’s Metro line No. 4, the longest route in the system at 35.7km.
