JCCR6 Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 I've thought about this quite a few times as I'm making my way home. Why is the expressway so tall? Its about 5 times the hight of the tallest trucks. It generally runs above other roads, so its not as if it needs to clear buildings etc. The only possible answers I can come up with are: Light - as its higher up, the roads below still get a lot of daylight, so artificial lighting isn't required until dusk. Status - maybe its just meant to 'wow', but this seems unlikely as its not really that impressive. The same goes for the skytrain..... Any thougths or ideas why its so tall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londonthai Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 in the future they will be developing streets and doing multi level crossings - for that you need a space below Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 How about 'whim' as the reason. Someone in charge just decided they would be 10m up. This then became the accepted religion. Of course, if you observe around the Rama 9 - Ramkhamhaeng intersection, you can see a prime example of this Bangkok urban whim planning. A flyover, and 2 expressways have been built and all been forced to climb over and under each other. Academics have theorised the whims emerged during different eras demonstrating the longevity of urban whim planning as a valuable strategy in the Thai capital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gummy Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Like you I don't know but I had assummed it was perhaps planned for the future so that some high level walkways, transportation sysytems could be integrated without effecting the flow of the highway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deke Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 The expressway from Bangna to Chonburi is really in the stratosphere. I've never been able to figure that out either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britmaveric Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Over compensate for smallness? Only winding.... urban development/planning as previously mentioned would be my guess too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadish_sweetball Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Express Way, oh Express Way! Wherefore art thou so tall? I do suspect your secret Baffles the minds of us all Lo! Your unfathomable columns of concrete tower before our eyes piercing the bulging streets below from imposing, heady heights Your lofty thoughts we can but guess as tyres screech , and metals clash In the aftermath, the silence speaks as Po Tek Teung clean up the mess Poe Thanol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singa-traz Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 The expressway from Bangna to Chonburi is really in the stratosphere. I've never been able to figure that out either. Nice view from there ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Check out the high speed rail link from Suwannaphum (if it ever gets finished as opposed to Hopewelled), it's bizarrely tall. Seriously though, it's all about maximising concrete usage to boost profits from corruption. I think the University of Hawaii uses Bangkok's expressways as a model of corruption in its economics courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petedk Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 in the future they will be developing streets and doing multi level crossings - for that you need a space below Come on! How many Thais think of the future? I don't mean this as Thai bashing but I really believe that Thai people think of here and now and not future. As to why the expressways are so high? Maybe they copy other countries. I can see the sense in building the airport train connection high. I live on Ekamai and have often see how people walk across the railway tracks at Klong Tan causing the train to pass quite slowly. At least when they build the railway so high people can't just walk along the tracks. Who knows? Maybe one day we'll see motorbikes driving along the skytrain tracks when the footpaths are completely congested! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sibeymai Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 (edited) world's tallest airport control tower.......world's tallest elevated train track........world's tallest elevated highways. Bangkok is sinking, and then there's rising sea levels due to climate change. Maybe Thais actually do plan for the future after all. Edited February 2, 2007 by sibeymai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiGoon Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 I don't really have any explanation for the tall expressways, but I guess for the airport rail link, it has to go over the BTS line on Phayathai Rd....and it's been designed for a high speed train. If there were too much variation in heights for the rail track, I guess, it wouldn't be that safe for the high speed train. Just my guess though. (Note that the whole plan for the airport rail link was to link Don Muang and Suvannabhum with a high speed train...but the first phase of the project which is under construction will only finish at Phayathai station linking it to BTS.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endure Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Because Thailand is the hub of Tall Things of course... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besth Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 The multi-level crossings would seem the obvious answer if it didn't contradict so much the "what's in it today" Thai mentality. Going off-topic, does anyone know what is that development on the Bang Na Trad highway going to Pattaya that has two high rise buildings plus many shop houses, all empty? It is near a river or waterway. Seen it every time I go from Bangkok to Pattaya for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leisurely Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Besth, yes, I've wondered that too. The blocks of flats are totally empty as are the houses around it. What a waste of concrete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 The multi-level crossings would seem the obvious answer if it didn't contradict so much the "what's in it today" Thai mentality.Going off-topic, does anyone know what is that development on the Bang Na Trad highway going to Pattaya that has two high rise buildings plus many shop houses, all empty? It is near a river or waterway. Seen it every time I go from Bangkok to Pattaya for a long time. Bang Pakong River Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totster Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 Why is the expressway so tall? So you don't bang your head.. totster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdnvic Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 I don't know if it was planned but it does keep some of the exhaust from vehicles up in the breeze and not hanging between tall buildings. It also gives some degree of shade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyk Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 I had wondered if the one down to Chonburi was because it looks like low, swampy land that might easily flood a highway at grade. But I suspect the concrete barons had some serious top-table input here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuky Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 Going off-topic, does anyone know what is that development on the Bang Na Trad highway going to Pattaya that has two high rise buildings plus many shop houses, all empty? It is near a river or waterway. Seen it every time I go from Bangkok to Pattaya for a long time. Besth, yes, I've wondered that too. The blocks of flats are totally empty as are the houses around it. What a waste of concrete. They do not even have red aircraft warning lights on the top of them. At night they are totally invisible. Scary huh? I have heard several stories, the buildings have been condemned, the buildings are full of ghosts etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phibunmike Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 Why is the expressway so tall? So you don't bang your head.. totster The additional centrifugal force acting on vehicles further from the centre of the earth makes the vehicles effectively lighter, so the concrete supports do not need to be so strong. Any additional cost incurred in making the columns taller is compensated by the increased revenue from fuel tax, as vehicles have to drive further (as the radius of their path over the curved surface of the earth is increased). Very clever really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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