Main Chiang Rai-Chiang Mai highway cut by run-off

By The Nation

 

 

Moutain run-off hit and washed out three sections of the main Chiang Rai-Chiang Mai road early on Saturday.

 

The Doi Saket police station in Chiang Rai was alerted at 3am that the run-off had taken out sections of the highway No 118 at the kilometre markers 43, 35 and 17, making the road impassable.

 

The police station issued an urgent warning for motorists to instead use the Chiang Rai-Prao-Chiang Mai route.

 

The station said the Highway Department is urgently sending a road contractor to repair the highway.

 

The police station suggested the following alternative routes from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai:

 

1. Highway No 11 to Lamphun and to Lampang (highway No 1), to Phayao and finally to Chiang Rai for 350 kilometres

 

2. Highway No 1001 to Prao district (highway No 1150), to Wiang Pa Pao, to Mae Saruay and then to Chiang Rai for 250km.

 

3. Highway No 107 to Fang (highway No 109), to Mae Saruay (highway No 118) and Chiang Rai for 280km.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30352417

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-08-18

 

 

 

 

 

Truck must have been unlucky or badly driven to end up in there.

Not so sure the road to Phrao is a great suggestion; we had to turn back yesterday because of flooding. It was apparently coming from the spillway of Mae Ngat dam which was overflowing. It might be back to normal now but best to check first.

Highlights the good quality of Thai road engineering and construction. Especially the foundation of the road

Good grief!  It was a flash flood in a construction zone.  It is/was a temporary bypass around a new bridge over a storm culvert.

3 hours ago, marko kok prong said:

Truck must have been unlucky or badly driven to end up in there.

Middle of the night.   Flash flood.  Wonder how your reactions would be in that case.............

Edited August 18, 20187 yr by Rotweiler

They are widening the road there and building bridges over the rivers .

They may have diverted the water which cause the flooding ? 

7 hours ago, marko kok prong said:

Truck must have been unlucky or badly driven to end up in there.

3am the truck was most likely parked - as it was used during construction

Quit Bashing and learn the facts

4 hours ago, CLW said:

Highlights the good quality of Thai road engineering and construction. Especially the foundation of the road

Foundations ?  You mean un-compacted sand .  Now Thai civil engineers are some of the best in the world, yes honestly.  The problem is that by the time the road budget is skimmed by 30%  as kick-backs,  then the local bosses take their cut and by the time the local head-man  (though all the affected Tambons the road improvements pass through ) gets their skim, then there is little left to do the job in accordance with the design requirements.   Hence dump a load of sand and concrete over it.  Repeat the process year on year due to wash-outs and many people get rich. Thainess working smoothly and bringing happiness to the people -  well , a very few of them anyway.

Edited August 18, 20187 yr by Esso49

21 hours ago, marko kok prong said:

Truck must have been unlucky or badly driven to end up in there.

My monies on the latter!!

Wow I have driven the road to Fang many times in the rainy season. These pics are insane. Has this ever happened before?

1 hour ago, garyk said:

Wow I have driven the road to Fang many times in the rainy season. These pics are insane. Has this ever happened before?

This isn't the road to Fang.

This is Highway 118 (the Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai Highway).    NO, this has not happened before because this is a unique situation - a 22km stretch of the highway through the worst of the mountain areas is under construction with about 17 km being totally rebuilt, and the remainder improved.  The new construction includes (at last count) 9 new concrete bridges/culverts - that required a temporary rerouting or realignment of the streams/drainage routes through this mountainous area. 

 

Unfortunately, while waiting for the culverts to be completed, the heavy rains of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday tried hard to widen the temporary culverts - and succeeded in three areas. 

 

I drive this route at least once or twice a week so have been monitoring the progress with interest.  Must say, I had not expected washouts since the temporary culverts appeared to be well made.  Guess the governments roadway construction engineers didn't either.

8 hours ago, BritManToo said:

This isn't the road to Fang.

Ah, right. Skimmed the article too fast.

Thanks

11 hours ago, Rotweiler said:

This is Highway 118 (the Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai Highway).    NO, this has not happened before because this is a unique situation - a 22km stretch of the highway through the worst of the mountain areas is under construction with about 17 km being totally rebuilt, and the remainder improved.  The new construction includes (at last count) 9 new concrete bridges/culverts - that required a temporary rerouting or realignment of the streams/drainage routes through this mountainous area. 

 

Unfortunately, while waiting for the culverts to be completed, the heavy rains of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday tried hard to widen the temporary culverts - and succeeded in three areas. 

 

I drive this route at least once or twice a week so have been monitoring the progress with interest.  Must say, I had not expected washouts since the temporary culverts appeared to be well made.  Guess the governments roadway construction engineers didn't either.

Thanks Rotweiler.
Does anyone here know how long this is expected to be impassible? ?
Any updates - or update sites?

On 8/18/2018 at 1:56 PM, marko kok prong said:

Truck must have been unlucky or badly driven to end up in there.

Brake failure?

2 hours ago, RPCVguy said:

Thanks Rotweiler.
Does anyone here know how long this is expected to be impassible? ?
Any updates - or update sites?

I am seeing posts today that the road is already open. Unconfirmed.

 

It's open.  Still slow around the new bypasses.  Cars and pickups allowed on last night;  large trucks and buses allowed on as of early this morning.