National Highway 50, HCMC’s southern gateway, enters final stretch: 250 m bottleneck cleared, widened to 6 lanes

The National Highway 50 widening project through the former Binh Chanh area (HCMC) is in its final stretch. Started in late 2022 with a total investment of nearly VND 1,500 billion, the nearly 7 km route runs from the Nguyen Van Linh interchange to the former Long An border (now Tay Ninh), boosting connections from HCMC to Long An and the Mekong Delta. The 250 m section near Ong Thin Bridge, once a “bottleneck” due to site clearance, has been fully handed over.

Project scale and progress

• Total investment of nearly VND 1,500 billion, started in late 2022.
• The route is nearly 7 km long: 4.3 km of new parallel road and 2.56 km of existing National Highway 50 widened from 7–8 m to 34 m, with 6 lanes.
• As of late September 2026: nearly 3 km of widened highway and the 4 km parallel road have completed 6-lane pavement.
• The Nguyen Van Linh and Trinh Quang Nghi area has finished sidewalks, trees and lighting; many sections are in use.
• The 250 m section near Ong Thin Bridge has been fully cleared, and the contractor is focusing on the final items.
• The new Ong Thin Bridge branch is open to traffic; the existing bridge is closed for strengthening.
• Remaining work is concentrated on the final section leading to the National Highway 50 – Ben Luc – Long Thanh expressway interchange; the flyover and the area around the interchange are nearly complete.

Connecting roads in the area

• The Binh Tien bridge–road project is under way, opening another route from central HCMC to the south; when completed it will connect with Nguyen Van Linh and the National Highway 50 parallel road.
• Once the infrastructure is complete, National Highway 50 together with Nguyen Van Linh, Ring Road 3, the Ben Luc – Long Thanh expressway and the Binh Tien bridge–road will form a network linking central HCMC with Tay Ninh and the Mekong Delta.
• Along the route, many houses have been renovated or rebuilt, and shops and services on both sides have been upgraded too.