New lane opens to relieve traffic at Chalong Circle

[webfact]

New lane opens to relieve traffic at Chalong Circle

By Tanyaluk Sakoot

 

The new lane across Chalong Circle has opened now that the roof of the tunnel underneath has been completed. Photo: Chalong Traffic Police

 

PHUKET: The project team overseeing the construction of the Chalong Underpass have opened a new lane across Chalong Circle to relive traffic congestion at the busy junction.

 

Somkiet Yimpong of Phuket office of the Highways Department, and Project Manager of the Chalong Underpass, confirmed to The Phuket News today that the new lane across the circle opened yesterday (Nov 19).

 

The circle itself, a five-way roundabout, has been closed for months to prevent cave-ins while workers excavate the tunnel underneath the junction.

Read more at https://www.thephuketnews.com/new-lane-opens-to-relieve-traffic-at-chalong-circle-69402.php#iITZZZjJEF6wxvpu.99 

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2018-11-20

[Old Croc]

Looks good. That bitumen should last a couple of hours.

Roof is finished and being driven on, but walls yet to be constructed. What's supporting the roof?

They still think it will open in April, remains to be seen.   

 

[LivinginKata]

1 hour ago, Old Croc said:

Looks good. That bitumen should last a couple of hours.

Roof is finished and being driven on, but walls yet to be constructed. What's supporting the roof?

They still think it will open in April, remains to be seen.   

 

 

Still good news. The bitumen ramp needs a rethink. The roof is supported by the earth way out on each side. Then build the tunnels wall to hold back earth and add strength to bridge top. Seems a fine engineering plan to me.  

[RedCardinal]

The walls were constructed well before the roof. The roof concrete and rebar sits on top of the reinforced walls which were set in the narrow trenches cut many months ago before the main trench was excavated.

[arithai12]

15 hours ago, webfact said:

to relive traffic congestion at the busy junction

Ah yes, thank you, just in case we miss that joy.

[Old Croc]

5 hours ago, RedCardinal said:

The walls were constructed well before the roof. The roof concrete and rebar sits on top of the reinforced walls which were set in the narrow trenches cut many months ago before the main trench was excavated.

My remark about the walls was prompted by this statement from the attached link:

 

“The excavation will be finished by the end of December and we will start to add the walls inside the tunnel. Then we can install the water pumps, lights and safety equipment into the tunnel,” Mr Somkiet said.
 

[Somtamnication]

Disaster in the making.

[hotchilli]

Should be renamed Chalong circus... hope they've got cave rescuers on speed dial

[RedCardinal]

4 hours ago, Old Croc said:

My remark about the walls was prompted by this statement from the attached link:

 

“The excavation will be finished by the end of December and we will start to add the walls inside the tunnel. Then we can install the water pumps, lights and safety equipment into the tunnel,” Mr Somkiet said.

 

Pretty sure that refers to the cladding that is affixed to the walls. The walls themselves were cast when they were using the vertical excavators to dig the ~1m wide trenches either side of the tunnel. The rebar protrudes from the top of the walls and is then connected to the massive rebar skeleton used in the roof before the cement for the roof is cast.

[steelepulse]

So how was traffic today compared to last week?

[RedCardinal]

Went through northbound at 2.30. No queue until after tunnel entrance. Drove back southbound at 3.00. Again, no queue northbound before tunnel.

[Old Croc]

21 hours ago, RedCardinal said:

Pretty sure that refers to the cladding that is affixed to the walls. The walls themselves were cast when they were using the vertical excavators to dig the ~1m wide trenches either side of the tunnel. The rebar protrudes from the top of the walls and is then connected to the massive rebar skeleton used in the roof before the cement for the roof is cast.

I had the same thoughts, but pics like this are a little confusing. It could be rough concrete or earthen:

(Screen shot from Phuket News video)

 

 

 

[LivinginKata]

1 hour ago, Old Croc said:

I had the same thoughts, but pics like this are a little confusing. It could be rough concrete or earthen:

(Screen shot from Phuket News video)

 

 

 

 

I agree. Confusing. Pictures like this were available a few months ago. I took it to be earth walls. I never noticed any 1m trench being dug across each side of the circle and concrete poured for a wall. I just saw a concrete 'bridge' being constructed quite quickly..

[RedCardinal]

2 hours ago, Old Croc said:

I had the same thoughts, but pics like this are a little confusing. It could be rough concrete or earthen:

That's concrete.  Looks like that because the earth trenches become the "mould". You can see they are placing the lowest row of cladding in that picture, which is most likely what the article was referring to. You could not make the roof before you have the supporting walls in place.

[RedCardinal]

1 hour ago, LivinginKata said:

I never noticed any 1m trench being dug across each side of the circle and concrete poured for a wall.

So you might remember those massive vertical diggers which lifted a huge jaw-like device which they lowered down into trenches?  After digging the trench they then fabricated and lowered massive rebar cages into each section of the trench.  They did this in 5-6m sections.  Concrete was then poured to form the retaining walls.  When they closed the circle a few months back this was the first job they did at that section of the road.  The vertical diggers had big "VR" branding on them if I remember correctly.

[farcanell]

19 hours ago, RedCardinal said:

Went through northbound at 2.30. No queue until after tunnel entrance. Drove back southbound at 3.00. Again, no queue northbound before tunnel.

Lol... the missus went out around midday, and came home with this exciting news ????????????

 

when i I asked if the traffic was any better, I got a confused “no”, followed by an opinion that if the police were to go away, then.... maybe.

[RedCardinal]

Just drove through northbound at 12.10 and again no queue until after the single lane alongside ramp. Whatever they're doing I hope they keep it up. Been a long time since went through at this time so quickly.

[RedCardinal]

Same coming back after 1pm. No queus either way. Just goes to show, proper traffic management could have made life a lot better, even without the new tunnel.

[RedCardinal]

Went through at 8pm and again no q queue northbound.

 

Found some photos of inside the tunnel on Facebook:

 

https://m.facebook.com/490888274426671/photos/a.490900271092138/1056554917860001/

 

Looks like they're making good progress it of sight.

[Valentine]

Today saw formwork going in for the actual circle so it should be open soon. Tunnel not included in this comment.

[LivinginKata]

I ventured all way to circle today rather than go back road behind HomePro. I saw no difference. Even that U turn off still closed. I am wondering if the split the road on the south side of circle. Traffic from Rawai quite light into ChaoFa West.

[Valentine]

18 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

I ventured all way to circle today rather than go back road behind HomePro. I saw no difference. Even that U turn off still closed. I am wondering if the split the road on the south side of circle. Traffic from Rawai quite light into ChaoFa West.

Seems to be an informal U turn through the construction site a couple of days ago

[RedCardinal]

2 hours ago, Valentine said:

Seems to be an informal U turn through the construction site a couple of days ago

I think there was a u-turn sign in Thai there though. They may have closed that as it looks like they are laying the final roof segments now.  That space might be needed to get machinery in to complete the roof.

 

Can only imagine how much water needs to be pumped out after yesterday...

[madmitch]

Remaining time has been 163 days for the past three weeks! Maybe that will be even longer after yesterday's rain.

 

The big traffic hold-up northbound now seems to have relocated itself to the drainage works outside Shell. They appear to be doing a more thorough job this time. Maybe they won't collapse again for a while.

[RedCardinal]

Today was fast going through northbound from Rawai at lunchtime.

 

They've almost completed the rook, with just one half of the final stretch remaining. THe bad news is that it's at the narrowist part of the road leading to HomePro, and I would not be surpirsed if they need to close the road to complete it. I'm sure they'll give plenty of warning, similar to yesterday's 6PM alert about cars avoiding the circle from 6PM...

[stevenl]

Yesterday the U-turn coming from Chalong direction Rawai was changed. It is now a straight turn into the old stunt show road. Faster and this also enables traffic coming down from Kata.