New Patong To Chalong Road On Hold – For Now

[george]

New Patong to Chalong road on hold – for now

High up in the Nakkerd Hills on the morning

of July 30, 2009. Photo by Steven Fein.

CURVACEOUS: Parts of the proposed two-lane, asphalt road will

likely be even steeper than the steepest of the Patong Hill road.

PHUKET CITY: -- Work on the new Patong-Chalong road could continue soon, despite the project not having Cabinet approval for a hilltop stretch which cuts through national forest land.

The road has long existed as a dirt pathway over the Nakkerd Hills, but its highest parts are only passable by all-terrain vehicles due to its sharp inclines, twisting turns and rough surface.

Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop, who has made expanding the island’s road network a top priority, has ordered the Phuket Office of the Rural Roads Department [RRD] to move forward with the project.

The work involves widening, grading and surfacing the entire five-kilometer stretch from Chao Fa West Road in Chalong to Nanai Road in Patong.

Grading work is well underway on the 800 meter stretch from Chao Fa Road to Wat Luangpoo Supha.

Further east, the road rises steeply up the hillside and into National Forest land.

Despite the rough terrain, local residents have long used the road because it reduces the trip to Patong from 20 kilometers to only five.

The area is used mainly for growing rubber trees, but other activities include charcoal-making, off-road car rental and goat herding.

Despite concerns about the legality of the project, the RRD says it is prepared to continue the work, provided it is given written orders from the governor.

Nid Nilphan, who heads the RRD's planning office in Phuket, said last week he was preparing the necessary documents for the governor to sign.

However, as of today, his office has yet to receive express written consent, so the project remains on hold.

Governor Wichai has applied for Cabinet permission to go ahead with the project and funding of 40 million baht has already been made available.

The project could be completed within six months, he said.

Mr Nid said he did not know if the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) was opposed to the project.

“It is my duty to follow the governor’s orders, but I want to get them in writing first,” he said.

A source at Phuket Provincial Hall said the project would be good for Phuket and is set to move forward soon.

“This road has long been used by local villagers who grow rubber up there, even though it is illegal in parts designated as National Forest,” he said.

Ongard Thanacharnmongkhon, who heads the MNRE’s Phuket Office, said that although the road only occupied a small part of the total forest area, the project would open up large areas of adjacent land to encroachment.

Moving ahead with the project without formal permission would only reinforce the idea that people could get away with doing whatever they want, regardless of the consequences to the environment, he said.

The governor and the MNRE are already at odds over another road project which would destroy eight square kilometers of mangrove forest to create a new access road to Sapan Hin.

One couple living on the lower Klong Krata hillside portion of the Patong-Chalong road project said they saw vehicles heading up the hill at all hours of the day and night and suspect they may be involved in illegal activities such as logging.

Although improvements to the road will no doubt affect their way of life, the couple are in favor of it.

“The road will enable people to evacuate out of Patong if there is another tsunami or similar disaster,” said Mr Kasem.

-- Phuket Gazette 2009-08-11

[bellachg]

There have been different opinions about whether this road should be built or not. I went out yesterday to have another look at it and tried to navigate it from the Patong end in my 4-wheel drive. No problem up to KM 1.3 (counting from Nanai Road) at the junction with Hasip Pee Road at an elevation of 141 m, where the pavement ends. At KM 2.1 I had to turn back because it was impossible to continue. I walked up the extra 200 m the very top of the highest ridge at 242 m elevation and saw that the road surface quality was better going down towards Chalong, so the pictures in the original post must have been taken further down on the Chalong side.

I have nothing against having another cross-island traffic link per se, it would be a tourist attraction with the views it would provide. But I simply cannot agree with the building development which, given the present record of permitting the construction of buildings for lands over 80 m high by several municipalities in Phuket, would undoubtedly follow. We already have lost too much of this land over 80 m, which is supposed to provide the island with water catchment areas and natural habitat. Hasip Pee Road and its new extension to the south (after the dogleg with the road under discussion) are prime examples of what will happen. I have counted 16 very new substantial buildings, some of them undoubtedly farang villas, on this new extension at elevations of between 100 and 160 m, among many other minor buildings. Although this extension now only has a dirt surface, electricity has been provided by the Provincial Electricity Authority along this very new road for 2 km of its length up to elevations of 155 m high!

On the proposed new Patong-Chalong road on top of the first ridge at KM 1.9 at elevation of 203 m this has already started, even though the road has not even been built yet. There is a new concrete road coming up the hill on the adjacent lands to the South coming within 5 m of the proposed thoroughfare, obviously that close to connect eventually for a new entrance. A new building is even now under construction (elevation of 215 m) next to it (some 50 m away from the proposed Patong-Chalong road).

If the governor persists in building this road, it is his responsibility to see that the road will not generate land development and other construction next to it for all the length of it which is above 80 m high.In some other countries, when the authorities construct a road, and want to prevent local access to it, several means are being used, declaration as a limited-access highway, the insertion of a strip of land (say a 1 m wide reserve) along its borders, which is public property and may not be accessed or crossed, or the construction of a separation wall or fence. The last method is actually in use in Thailand in the form of medians on divided highways, or a substantial high fence along the border of the road, such as along the boundaries of many portions of the Eastern ring road around Bangkok. A number of width- limited openings, wide enough only for motorcycles with side cars, can be provided for legitimate users of the lands bordering the road, such as rubber tappers. The Forestry Department officers, of course must do their thing too. Get out of their offices and inspect the respective fences for breaks at regular and frequent time intervals.

[markg]

Bella CHG

what a great reply.

It should be translated into Thai and sent to the Govenor.

[bellachg]

Bella CHG

what a great reply.

It should be translated into Thai and sent to the Govenor.

Thank you for your support.

Here is another comment on one of the other new roads promoted by the Governor and also alluded to in the original posting:

I have myself inspected the site of the proposed Saphan Hin-Sakdided road, 500 of the 600 m run right through natural and as yet undisturbed mangrove habitat.

However, it is clear that the road must be built to connect the two existing dead-end divided (4-lane) roads at each end. It will be one of the last links of a main circular road around Phuket.

However, the mangroves need to be preserved as well, as much as is possible. Therefore the road should not be built on a landfill causeway, but on pillars, at least for most of the way, so that seawater can flow freely in both directions under the road. There are still about 60 rai of natural mangrove habitat left to the north of this road, which have even been made accessible by a boardwalk constructed by the Marine and Coastal Resources Department and which gives access to school students and others to get to know and learn about this environment. It is the only such facility I know off this close to town. Constructing a causeway would stop the waterflow and kill this mangrove forest.