Having run on Hanoi Highway many times, driver Duong Tich Huy himself has little knowledge of its origin. He said: “I think you must use this road to travel from the inner HCMC to Hanoi so it is named Hanoi Highway”. However, its original name was Bien Hoa Highway, which was built in 1959 and finished in 1961. Funded through the United States’s investment, the road connected Saigon (from Dien Bien Phu Bridge, Binh Thanh District) and Bien Hoa, Dong Nai (at Tam Hiep Interchange). After the construction, Bien Hoa Highway was the most beautiful road in Vietnam at that time. Hanoi Highway’s former function was to provide utility as a makeshift military route; however, in 1971, improvements were made to accommodate for civilian use.

   After the liberation of the South in 1975, the highway was changed into Highway 52. In 1984, it was renamed Hanoi Highway on the 30^th anniversary of the liberation of Hanoi. The route runs through Binh Thanh District, District 2, District 9, Thu Duc District in HCMC. Then, it goes through Di An Town (Binh Duong Province) and Bien Hoa City (Dong Nai Province). There are two main bridges on the route, namely Saigon and Dong Nai Bridge, which was built at the same time as the road.

    Because it is the main route linking Bien Hoa with Saigon and one of the largest roads in HCMC, there are huge volumes of vehicles on the route, causing frequent congestion. It even takes 10 hours for vehicles to be able to move in special occasions such as New Year Eve. There is an increase in the number of journeys transporting goods to industrial zones, factories, companies which are located in Thu Duc District or Bien Hoa City. To meet the local people’s demands for traffic on this route, HCMC has upgraded and broadened many sections of Hanoi Highway such as the one from Rach Chiec (District 9) to Tan Van Interchange (Dong Nai Province).