Ho Chi Minh City Shuts Major Underpass Due to Flooding, Causing 2km Traffic Jams

Ho Chi Minh City has closed its largest underpass at the An Phu interchange due to flooding, a measure taken after overnight rain inundated the structure. This marks the second time the underpass has been flooded since it opened to traffic in February 2026. The underpass, approximately 14 meters wide with four lanes, is designed to allow vehicles to travel directly between Mai Chi Tho and Dong Van Cong streets without intersecting with surface traffic. The An Phu interchange is a critical hub, connecting the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway with major arterial roads such as Mai Chi Tho, Luong Dinh Cua, Nguyen Thi Dinh, and Dong Van Cong. Flooding inside the underpass extended for about 300 meters. The Area 2 firefighting police team deployed specialized vehicles and pumps to drain the water, while the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Drainage Company sent a sludge suction truck to assist. Thousands of vehicles queued at the exit of the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway heading towards the An Phu interchange. Normally, cars from this direction can use the underpass to emerge onto Mai Chi Tho Street and proceed to downtown Ho Chi Minh City. With the underpass closed, traffic was funneled onto the roundabout, creating a backup of more than 2 km. The prolonged jam left many drivers stepping out of their vehicles onto the road after waiting too long. Thanh Trung, 60, who was hauling cargo from Dong Nai to Binh Chanh, stated he had been stuck at the An Phu roundabout for about 45 minutes without moving. "Every other day I get through the underpass very quickly. Today the road is closed, and it's been stop-and-go all morning, inching forward, sometimes sitting completely still and wasting time," he said. Many drivers rolled down their windows and passed the time on their phones while waiting for the traffic to ease. The road surface was still flooded on Friday morning, forcing drivers to pick out higher stretches of pavement to keep water out of their engines. A representative from the Ho Chi Minh City Transport Construction Investment Project Management Board said the underpass flooded because "the volume of water exceeded the pumps' capacity." This incident highlights the challenges faced by Vietnam's rapidly developing urban infrastructure in coping with increasingly severe weather events, a growing concern for the nation's economic growth and urban planning.