From October 15 onward, District 1's Le Loi Street and the roundabout in front of Ben Thanh Market will be fenced off due to metro construction.
The city’s Management Authority of Urban Railways (MAUR), which is responsible for Saigon’s metro construction, announced the closure last Thursday, reports Saigon Times. Starting next weekend, contractors will block off Le Loi as well as Quach Thi Trang Roundabout in order to begin the construction of an underground tunnel which will link the Saigon Metro’s Ben Thanh Station with the nearby Opera House Station.
The 515-meter tunnel is expected to affect 75 trees in the surrounding area, according to Duong Huu Hoa, director of Project Management Board 1 under MAUR. Of those trees, 51 will be uprooted and relocated, while the remaining 24 will simply be cut down.
The underground tunnel will be completed in 2020, just in time for Saigon Metro Line 1 to begin operation.
