The Ringway 3 of Greater Hanoi area (Vietnamese: Đường Vành đai 3 Hà Nội), signed as CT.37 is a major freeway and urban thoroughfare surrounding the inner part of Hanoi. As the first ringway built in Greater Hanoi area, Ringway 3 connects most of the newly developed area outside the urban core of Hanoi. In addition to that, Ringway 3 is the terminus of most expressway connecting Greater Hanoi to other regions of Vietnam. Due to its importance, Ringway 3 is one of the busiest and most congested highway in Vietnam, carrying from 8 to 10 times its maximum capacity. To deal with congestion, the Government of Vietnam has proposed building additional ringway to help alleviate traffic on Ringway 3.
Names and signage There is no official, single name for this road in English. In Vietnamese, this road is referred in official documents and the media as Vành đai 3 (lit. Third Ring Road). Some other sources translate this road as Ring Road 3 (like JICA). This article uses the translated title "Ringway 3", adopted from the London Ringways scheme of the 1960s.
Regarding signage and numbering, the elevated freeway portion officially carries the designation CT.37 (with CT is Vietnamese for "cao tốc", lit. expressway) since September 2021. Previously, this portion carried the designation CT.20. As of October 2022, nearly all signs on the freeway still use the old designation. Another signage problem is the disagreements whether the elevated portion is a "freeway" or an "expressway". Most signs on the elevated segment use "expressway"; while directional signs at Thanh Xuân and Trung Hòa junction use "freeway".
Route description East of the Red River (Long Biên and Gia Lâm district) The current segment of Ringway 3 begins at the interchange with Thái Nguyên expressway near Từ Sơn, Bắc Ninh. Ringway 3 then continues south, traverses the Phù Đổng Bridge through the Đuống River. It then intersects National Highway 5, an important road connecting Hanoi with Hải Phòng and its ports.
Continuing pass the Highway 5 toward Thanh Trì Bridge, Ringway 3 pass through 2 major junctions: The first one is with Hải Phòng expressway, built to relieve traffic on the heavily congested Highway 5; and Cổ Linh Avenue to Vĩnh Tuy Bridge, which serve as an alternative route to get to central Hanoi. The second junction is located about south of the first junction, providing access to newly developed area of Ocean Park, Ecopark, as well as access to Bát Tràng Village.
Ringway 3 then continues southward toward central Hanoi as Thanh Trì Bridge, crossing the Red River.
Thanh Trì Bridge
The Thanh Trì bridge is major bridge spanning Red River, connecting the eastern districts of Long Biên and Gia Lâm, and the western districts of Hoàng Mai. It carries both Ringway 3, Bắc Ninh Expressway (part of north–south expressway) and National Highway 1A.
The bridge has eight lanes: four for each direction, with three left lanes reserved for motorized traffic. Since motorbikes are not allowed on expressway, the outer right lane is reserved for motorbikes only. While designed for a maximum speed of , the speed limit was lowered to due to heavy traffic and high frequency of accidents.
As the final Red River crossing in the greater Hanoi area (the next crossing being Yên Lệnh Bridge, away), combined with this bridge is one of the only connections from Hanoi to northeast provinces (Thái Nguyên, Bắc Giang, Lạng Sơn, and the Chinese border), as well as to the city of Hải Phòng and its ports, and the heavily visited city of Hạ Long, this bridge suffers from very heavy traffic and frequent accidents. According to data from Hanoi's Department of Transportation (HNDoT), as of October 2022, the bridge currently carries 124,000 vehicles per day, around 5.5 times its designed capacity.
Central Hanoi After traversing the Red River, Ringway 3 splits into two portion: An elevated portion, which is designed to freeway/Interstate Highway standard, designed to handle traffic between expressways; and an at-grade portion, which served as a major arterial road, connecting heavily populated area of Hoàng Mai, Thanh Xuân, Cầu Giấy and North Từ Liêm districts.
Elevated portion Extension of Thanh Trì bridge The elevated portion started after crossing Thanh Trì Bridge, with the first part being an extension of Thanh Trì bridge to Highway 1. Designed as a freeway, it has four lanes with two for each direction, and a hard shoulder for safety. The maximum speed limit is , and there are two exits: One to Lĩnh Nam Rd, which serves the local communities of Lĩnh Nam and Vĩnh Hưng, and the other is to Tam Trinh Rd, an alternate route to central Hanoi.
This portion terminates at Pháp Vân interchange, a major interchange located near the neighborhood of Pháp Vân, Hoàng Mai district. From here, Highway 1A and the CT.01 highway split from Ringway 3, heading southward to southern Red River Delta provinces and Central provinces as Pháp Vân expressway. Ringway 3 continues as Pháp Vân viaduct and Elevated Ringway 3.
Pháp Vân - Mai Dịch segment Continuing northbound, Ringway 3 crosses through Giải Phóng and Ngọc Hồi Blvd - a major thoroughfare connecting downtown Hanoi and southern suburbs; and Linh Đàm lake, located near Linh Đàm, a heavily populated neighborhood of southern Hanoi. It then continues northbound, running through newly developed area of Manor Park and Khương Đình before heading to Thanh Xuân junction.
The Thanh Xuân junction is diamond interchange, with its ramps connecting directly to at-grade Ringway 3. This junction provides connection to Nguyễn Trãi Blvd (part of National Highway 6), an arterial road connects downtown Hanoi (Ba Đình Square) to western, newly developed districts of Thanh Xuân and Hà Đông.
Heading north, Ringway 3 then reaches the junction with Hòa Lạc Expressway (Thăng Long Blvd) heading west to Hòa Lạc and Hòa Bình; and Trần Duy Hưng Blvd (named after Dr. , the first mayor of Hanoi), heading east to downtown Hanoi. The segment between two junctions are frequently congested, due to the close proximity of the two (about , less than the recommended distance of between exits).
Ringway 3 then continues to make its way to Mai Dịch junction, when the first elevated segment ends. Traffic can continue north through Mai Dịch overpass (and eventually the second elevated segment), or use the at-grade intersection with Highway 32, connecting northwestern suburb of Nhổn and Mỹ Đình to the central Hanoi.
Mai Dịch - Thăng Long Bridge segment Beyond Mai Dịch junction, elevated Ringway 3 continues making its way north toward Thăng Long Bridge as a 4 lane freeway, similar to previous segments. Compared to other elevated segments, traffic on this segment is relatively light. As a result, the speed limit is higher at 100 km/h (60 mph). Running above Phạm Văn Đông Blvd, this segments has 3 exits: One to Hoàng Quốc Việt Blvd, connecting to Ringway 2 and Nhật Tân Bridge; another to Cổ Nhuế; and the last one is to Ciputra and Embassy Area (Ngoại giao Đoàn), two of the more affluent area of Hanoi.
This is the newest segment of the entire Ringway 3, having been completed in October 2020, and connecting ramps in December 2021.
Ringway 3 then continues northbound as Thăng Long bridge, heading to North Thăng Long Industrial Park, Nội Bài Int'l Airport, and northwestern provinces of Vĩnh Phúc and Phú Thọ.
At-grade portion From Thanh Trì bridge to Linh Đàm
Exiting Thanh Trì bridge, the at-grade portion runs underneath the elevated portion. Before the construction of Thanh Trì bridge, this section was a 2 lane road connecting Highway 1 to Red River levee. It is now a four-lane arterial road, with two lanes and a shoulder for each direction. This road serves as collector road to nearby community of Tam Trinh, Lĩnh Nam; as well as providing direct access to old Highway 1 (since the elevated portion only connect to Pháp Vân expressway). In addition, this segment also serves as an alternative route for the often congested elevated segment.
Beyond Pháp Vân junction, the road is named Hoàng Liệt Avenue, since it serves the village of Hoàng Liệt, as well as the eastern half of the neighborhood of Linh Đàm. After a couple of junctions with local streets, the road turn into an overpass, spanning Linh Đàm lake, before it meets Nguyễn Hữu Thọ Ave., a major thoroughfare connecting the entire neighborhood of Linh Đàm to downtown Hanoi.
From Nguyễn Hữu Thọ Ave. to Kim Giang Rd., this road serves as a connector road for traffic entering western half of Linh Đàm, as well as nearby community of Thanh Liệt and Đại Kim.
Linh Đàm to Thanh Xuân junction Heading north out of Linh Đàm, the road is now eight lanes wide, with four lanes for each direction, and is signed as Nghiêm Xuân Yêm Boulevard. (named after the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development from 1947 to 1971). Newly developed area of Kim Văn - Kim Lũ and Manor Central Park are built along this portion. Compared to other segments, this portion hasn't been developed fully. Around halfway to Thanh Xuân junction, this road intersects Chu Văn An Blvd, connecting to densely populated neighborhood of Xa La in Hà Đông.
Past Chu Văn An Blvd, the road continues north as Nguyễn Xiển Boulevard (named for his contribution is development of science in early days of Vietnam). This section sees more development along its way, passing through neighborhood of Hạ Đình, Thanh Xuân. As this road approach Thanh Xuân junction, it got narrowed into two lanes each direction for the ramps to Ringway 3. This bottleneck often causes severe congestion, especially in rush hour.
Thanh Xuân junction to Trung Hòa junction Ringway 3 meets Highway 6 (Nguyễn Trãi Blvd) at Thanh Xuân junction. A major junction of Hanoi, connecting east - west traffic between downtown Hà Nội and western districts of Thanh Xuân and Hà Đông, and north–south traffic around Ringway 3 corridor, this junction suffers serious traffic congestion. Many blame the poor design of the freeway, with ramps connecting in a diamond-like interchange, creating conflict points across the junction. To alleviate the problem, an underpass on Nguyễn Trãi Blvd was built to reduce congestion.
Past Thanh Xuân junction, this road is signed as Khuất Duy Tiến Boulevard. Originally built as local streets connecting brick factories and apartments complex for workers, it is now an 8-lane boulevard, with four lanes each direction. This road provides connection to Trung Hòa - Nhân Chính, a heavily developed area of Thanh Xuân district. This road intersects with Lê Văn Lương Ave. and Tố Hữu Ave., the second east - west corridor connecting downtown Hanoi and Hà Đông.
About 2 km northbound, Ringway 3 has another major intersection, this time with Trần Duy Hưng Blvd. and Hòa Lạc expressway. Similar to the junction with Nguyễn Trãi Blvd, this features a diamond-style interchange and an underpass for traffic heading east–west between Hòa Lạc expressway and Trần Duy Hưng Blvd. This junction often experiences severe congestion, since there is no direct ramp connecting elevated Ringway 3 with Hòa Lạc expressway, forcing many vehicles (the majority are trucks and other heavy good vehicles) to exit onto the junction below, causing delays and accidents, sometime fatal ones.
Trung Hòa junction to Mai Dịch junction Continuing northbound as Phạm Hùng Boulevard, Ringway 3 pass through some of the first developed area of western Hanoi in the mid-2000s, including National Convention Center, Nam Trung Yên and Mỹ Đình. A notable landmark along this route is the Landmark Hanoi Towers, the tallest building in Hanoi and second-tallest building in Vietnam (after Landmark 81 building in HCMC).