Regarding signage and numbering, the elevated freeway portion officially carries the designation CT.37 (with CT is Vietnamese for "cao tốc", lit.

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.

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.

It then continues northbound, running through newly developed area of Manor Park and Khương Đình before heading to Thanh Xuân junction.

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.

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.

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).

Many blame the poor design of the freeway, with ramps connecting in a diamond-like interchange, creating conflict points across the junction.

Originally built as local streets connecting brick factories and apartments complex for workers, it is now a 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.

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.

Due to its importance, Mỹ Đình bus station is one of the main source of traffic on Phạm Hùng Blvd (other than motorbikes heading north which couldn't use the elevated freeway).

At the end of Phạm Hùng Blvd is the Mai Dịch junction, which connects traffic using Ringway 3 (both elevated and at-grade portions) to Highway 32, linking central Hanoi, major universities (including most of the National University's campuses) and northwestern outskirt towns of Hoài Đức and Sơn Tây.

Originally a 4-lane road, it has been widening to 8 lanes, accommodating traffic to nearby communities of Cổ Nhuế and Xuân Đỉnh, both have been existing long before any official planning.

As a consequence, the structure of the city was significantly influenced by socialist idealism and, in the process, the North Vietnamese government realized the need for a cohesive urban master plan of Hanoi.

[7] The first of such plan called for the development of four inner boroughs (now knowns as the 4 "central districts" of Hai Bà Trưng, Hoàn Kiếm, Ba Đình and Đống Đa).

[17][18] By mid 2009, an agreement over compensation was made between the city and local residents,[19] and by the summer of 2010, Khuất Duy Tiến Blvd was opened to traffic.

This segment required the construction of a brand new arterial road through sparsely populated, mostly farmland area of Thanh Trì district.

[27]The rest of elevated Ringway 3 (between Mai Dịch and Pháp Vân viaduct) started construction in June 2010,[28] and was opened to traffic in October 2012 (15 months earlier than expected), with the cost of 5.54 trillion VND.

[29] The elevated freeway and Thanh Trì bridge were expected to reduce congestion, allowing vehicle to connect between major expressway without using busy surface streets in central Hanoi.

To completed Ringway 3, the MoT decided to build another elevated freeway from Mai Dịch junction to Thăng Long bridge, as well as widening the at-grade Phạm Văn Đồng Blvd, which was then a frequently congested 4-lane road.

However, problems in land acquisition (including the controversial decision to cut down around 1,300 trees alongside Phạm Văn Đồng Blvd) had significantly delayed the project.

The widening of Phạm Văn Đồng Blvd was completed around summer 2019, while some segments of the elevated portion started construction in late 2018.

In addition to that, a boom in new developments alongside the newly completed Ringway 3 corridor has contributed to worsening traffic condition.

To solve these problems, HNDoT has built an underpass in junction with Lê Văn Lương Ave, a major intersection with Ringway 3 which often suffers from serious delays.

In addition, most expressway connecting Hanoi with other regions terminates in Ringway 3, forcing traffic onto this highway, worsening congestion.

Most of new developments in Hanoi since 2010 are located close to Ringway 3, the majority of which are middle to high income neighborhoods, significantly increasing the number of vehicles on this corridor.

While most of elevated segments and the Thanh Trì bridge was designed to handle around 15,000 vehicles/day, past traffic counts showed that Ringway 3 carries around 8 to 10 times its designed capacity, make it comparable to traffic count on some of the world's busiest ringways - like Interstate 405 around Los Angeles, California or the M25 motorway around London, UK.