Tunnel Digging On The Ring Road

[lamphun]

Can anybody explain to me why the government is trying to build six underpasses on the inner and middle ring roads all at the same time?

Driving the kids to school has gone from being a mild chore to a complete nightmare. On friday it took me 30 minutes to drive from in front of Carrefour, 500 meters to the middle ring road.

Wouldn't it have been nice if they'd built them one at a time. Then all the diggers and workers could have been concentrated in one place and completed the work ten times faster. As it is if anybody can actually see any progress being made then they should get an award. It looks like they'll still be digging in 12 months.

[Ajarn]

And how about them starting their tunnel construction right at the beginning of the rainy season?

[ovenman]

Can anybody explain to me why the government is trying to build six underpasses on the inner and middle ring roads all at the same time?

I haven't been able to determine the logic driving the current construction plans. Doing everything-at-once is just chaotic and I wouldn't be at all surprised if these projects run short of funding somewhere in the middle.

I also wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that Mr. Big wanted these highway projects done in his hometown post-haste. Mr. Big said "Jump!" and all the minions replied "How high and for how long do you want us to stay in the air?".

[chanchao]

However... did anyone notice that Khuang Singh (Chotana/Mae Rim Road) intersection is now actually FASTER than it was previously with the traffic lights even? (The intersection is blocked, so traffic flows kind of like a roundabout circle). I think roundabouts would be lots cheaper AND faster for many of the new tunnels. Tunnels are okay when following the ring road, but when going across them there's still traffic lights..

Anyway, expect construction to continue for 2 more years on the ones that are in progress now. We know how long it takes from experience with the Lamphun Road tunnel and the Hang Dong road tunnel: Pretty much forever.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[Johpa]

and I wouldn't be at all surprised if these projects run short of funding somewhere in the middle.

Worse has happened in the past. There was once an original contract to widen the Chiang Mai-Mae Rim road in the early 1980s. The contractor tore out the existing paved two lane road and then basically ran off with the rest of the funds leaving a two lane road of red clay that alternated between red mud and red dust for a few years until a new contractor could be hired.