Another Road Bites The Dust

[Ajarn]

I went out for a drive to Chiang Dao again today. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed some road construction starting south of Mae Tang...and of course more construction north Of Chiang Dao near the Wiang Heng intersection... It looks like they're building a 4+ lane ring road around the downtown Chiang Dao area... I agree that the downtown area is just too narrow and congested to handle much more traffic, but I've never had the feeling that any other part of that road is anywhere near a saturation point...

Today I noticed the construction has been stepped up, and the section south of Mae Tang is getting the Hang Dong road construction look... Looks like another 15 years or so of construction tearing up the road. One of my favorite roads soon to be like the road south of Hang Dong- which, in my opinion, is MUCH more dangerous than before because of the terrible quality of the road work. Even the newest sections have huge holes, mountains of rippled asphalt...What a ###### bad joke...

I love going out for relaxing drives around here, and I lament the passing of the Chiang Dao road....

[p1p]

Seems they are desperate to spend on infrastructure at present, whether it will ever be necessary or not. More roads : more tea money : bigger houses : better Benz. The normal go-around in Asia.

Just seems a pity the Great Leader comes from our neck-of-the-woods, so we have to suffer the worst inconvenience.

[sabaijai]

More roads : more tea money : bigger houses : better Benz. The normal go-around in Asia.

That sums it up, I think. Each province gets a share of the national road budget and local officials are free to spend it as they see fit; the bigger the project the better the percentage for provincial officials.

Now that most roads in the North have been paved, the next step is to change all two-lane roads to four-lane highways, whether there's any traffic to speak of or not. Already the city of Mae Hong Son has four-lane highway leading into and out of town, despite a lack of demand to justify the expansion. Charm goes out the window, followed by tourism.

Pai just got its first traffic light, at the main four-way in the middle of town. The light is causing Pai's first traffic jams ever ...

Edited October 30, 2004 by sabaijai

[Ajarn]

...And the construction has already started on a 4 lane paved road from Samoeng direct to MaeHongSon. So, I assume there will have to be a 4-lane road to Samoeng, too... I used to love that old dirt road on a bike- in the dry season. Only nuts like David Unkovich and David Lek liked it during the rainy season...

I imagine Chiang Mai Construction, with well known family ties to Newin Chichob, will be at the forefront of any road construction outside of Muang district- as usual...

[Johpa]

It looks like they're building a 4+ lane ring road around the downtown Chiang Dao area... I agree that the downtown area is just too narrow and congested to handle much more traffic, but I've never had the feeling that any other part of that road is anywhere near a saturation point...

I love going out for relaxing drives around here, and I lament the passing of the Chiang Dao road....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I always enjoyed driving through "downtown" Chiang Dao. I like the short confined drive through the market area filled with the usual colorful assortment of Chiang Mai rural denizens. I doubt a ring road would shorten the drive up to Fang by that much and the need to stop for refreshments and other calls of nature will cause me to byapss the ring road if and when it is completed.

[chanchao]

> I doubt a ring road would shorten the drive up to Fang by that

> much and the need to stop for refreshments and other calls of

> nature will cause me to byapss the ring road if and when

> it is completed.

That's of course fine, but keep in mind that there's some very heavy traffic currently thunders straight through a nice little town, meters away from its schools, markets and temples. Most of this heavy traffic doesn't slow down significantly either. So really, a ring road is not a bad idea.

And besides, Fang has one, so how can Chiang Dao remain behind!

Cheers,

Chanchao

[p1p]

Please take a look at the Good Morning Chiang Mai News magazine. The current issue has a lead story on just this issue.

ALL CHANGE AT CHIANG DAO: NO CHANGE ON HANG DONG

A massive by-pass is taking shape around picturesque Chiang Dao town to speed traffic away from the narrow centre streets along the northern Route 107 from Chiangmai to Fang.

Several high-budget bridges have appeared and millions of tons of earth have been moved for the road - which forks to the west off the original and passes between the town and the famous cave and mountain.

Most residents feel that the by-pass is inevitable and the route chosen does not compromise the natural beauty of the mountain or the river Ping to the east. However, they have been warned that the old route through the centre may also be widened, which would entail the demolition of several traditional wooden shops and homes.

To the north of Chiang Dao, the new road re-connects with the original only 300m south of the fork which takes traffic west to Wiang Haeng. Conservationists, who asked not to be named, told ‘Good Morning Chiangmai NEWS’ they fear a massive new lignite mine will be opened near Wiang Haeng and the new road is being built specifically for convoys of trucks which will shuttle to and from the electrical generating plant at Mae Moh near Lampang.

Last month the same conservationists said they feared the controversial cable car project to the mountain top was ‘go’.

‘Soon after our October issue went to press with the exclusive news that Chiangmai Airport’s existing 3.1km runway was long enough to take the biggest of the next generation airliners, sources said that the controversial southern extension plan – taking the runway across Hang Dong Road – had been scrapped.

Millions of baht will be saved by restricting the runway extension to only 300 meters to the north, involving the demolition of a relatively small number of Royal Thai Air Force buildings near Sutep Road.

The 4 year old Land Transport HQ on the east side of Hang Dong Road is now safe from demolition, and hundreds of residents who had been prepared for compulsory purchase can now relax. The decision is also good news for Hang Dong Road commuters who were expecting 2 years of traffic jams while the main road was placed in a 2km long tunnel under the extended runway.

[Johpa]

> I doubt a ring road would shorten the drive up to Fang by that

> much and the need to stop for refreshments and other calls of

> nature will cause me to byapss the ring road if and when

> it is completed.

That's of course fine, but keep in mind that there's some very heavy traffic currently thunders straight through a nice little town, meters away from its schools, markets and temples.    Most of this heavy traffic doesn't slow down significantly either.   So really, a ring road is not a bad idea. 

And besides, Fang has one, so how can Chiang Dao remain behind! 

Cheers,

Chanchao

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You have a point there. With the increase in truck and general traffic perhaps a ring road will make the visit into Chiang Dao more pleasent for those of us who like that small town. And call me old fashioned as I still drive through Fang and stop for a bowl of Khao Soi. But I do miss meeting Mr. Sing there.

[sabaijai]

> I doubt a ring road would shorten the drive up to Fang by that

> much and the need to stop for refreshments and other calls of

> nature will cause me to byapss the ring road if and when

> it is completed.

That's of course fine, but keep in mind that there's some very heavy traffic currently thunders straight through a nice little town, meters away from its schools, markets and temples.    Most of this heavy traffic doesn't slow down significantly either.    So really, a ring road is not a bad idea. 

And besides, Fang has one, so how can Chiang Dao remain behind! 

Cheers,

Chanchao

You have a point there. With the increase in truck and general traffic perhaps a ring road will make the visit into Chiang Dao more pleasent for those of us who like that small town. And call me old fashioned as I still drive through Fang and stop for a bowl of Khao Soi. But I do miss meeting Mr. Sing there.

I like to stop in Fang, too, for khao soi - probably the same place, Parichart. Even that has changed, having expanded to twice its original size, and offering much more than just khao soi. Still a great spot.

One place that badly needs a ring road is Sanpatong. Driving to Chom Thong or Doi Inthanon is a chore because of the Sanpatong bottleneck. Sanpatong isn't without its charms either, yet the main road through town is clogged with ten-wheelers and other traffic.

A bypass for Chiang Dao is necessary, I think, as it's becoming a similar bottleneck for traffic north.

[Ajarn]

Please take a look at the Good Morning Chiang Mai News magazine. The current issue has a lead story on just this issue.

ALL CHANGE AT CHIANG DAO: NO CHANGE ON HANG DONG

they fear a massive new lignite mine will be opened near Wiang Haeng and the new road is being built specifically for convoys of trucks which will shuttle to and from the electrical generating plant at Mae Moh near Lampang.

Last month the same conservationists said they feared the controversial cable car project to the mountain top was ‘go’.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The more I think about it, the more the mine thing makes perfect sense for such construction reasoning. And nothing of note is happening north of that intersection- all road construction ends there...That Wieng Heng road splits and goes two directions, but still ends up nowhere of note- except to the site of the planned mine...