More Expressways Expected To Be Built To Solve Bangkok's Traffic Problem

[FarangTalk]

Don't they still owe that German company millions for previously built expressway projects?

[Fullstop]

I think they're waiting for the 'Statute of Limitations" to kick in.

[FarangTalk]

Cannot post the full story here due to forum rules but a bit of background on the duplicitous and dishonest behaviour of the Thais when it comes to building expressways -

"The spat goes back more than 20 years to the involvement of DYWIDAG, which merged with construction firm Walter Bau in 2001, in building a motorway link between Bangkok and Don Muang airport.

After "numerous breaches of contract by the Thai government", Walter Bau, by then insolvent, in 2007 claimed for damages.

These now total almost 40 million euros including interest and fees, said the insolvency administrator, Werner Schneider." Source - AFP

If you want to know more, Google will provide the answers.

[h90]

Oh yes, briilant solution.

It's not the access to certain areas of Bangkok that's causing the traffic problem, it's the streets themselves in those areas of Bangkok that are causing the problems.

So building more expressways to already congested areas of Bangkok will not solve the "traffic problem", it will simply bring more vehicles into those already congested areas.

It's rather like trying to pour more water into a already plugged drain, it won't work. will it.?

Beside that I agree that it won't help, how do expressways bring more vehicles??

Or in your logic the solution would be to cut the roads to upcountry....these people should stay at home??

[edgarfriendly]

statute of mai pen rai/lai

[richard_smith237]

New express ways are a good idea. However, improvements in Bangkok's traffic dynamics must me also be made otherwise the 'choke points' at major junctions will remain.

Grid lock is a common cause of city wide congestion. Driving culture itself needs to be improved, one way to achieve this might be to sequence the lights faster. Thailand is one of the few countries in the world that I know of where the traffic lights cycle over such long durations of time.

If the lights were to cycle more quickly, people wouldn't be so inclined to force their way through a congested junction, there will be less panic of being held up for 10mins at a single traffic light.

Simple improvements can already be made with the systems in place. All it would take is a firm directive and police control. Again, it always comes back to lack of effective policing, but this time we can also blame a selfish traffic culture.

[Dap]

Where in the h*ll are they gonna' put em'?

[Jim walker]

Its only Thai
logic a very well thought out way by some Thai boffins how to take traffic of
the congested clogged up roads in Bangkok, easy quite simple. Build more roads.

[mayday49]

Yeah ,but Traffic jams are a good form of entertainment for the elderly.....

[bonobo]

New expressways can help, although perhaps more for the evening commute unless those expressways going into town have some place for the cars to park (such as at BTS stations).

Bangkok has something like 25% of the streets that Manhattan does (I can't find the source where I read that), so all those cars are competing for less paved space in which to drive. Add horrible traffic management, drivers who make their own self-centered rules, and road engineering that looks like is was done as a 3rd grade class project, well, we have traffic.

By adding some radial expressways, traffic can be better funneled out to the periphery. Going from Bangkok to Thonburi, for example, there are really no expressways inside of Kanchanpisek other than the one that turnes into Rama 2. From there to the north, you have Sathorn, which turns into Rachapruek (where the split between that and Kallaprapruek causeg severe congestion going both ways), then really nothing until Chaeng Wattana, which ends at the northern end of Rachapruek instead of going on to Kachanapisek.

Once you are over the river, you can lead up to the elevated highway on Baroonrachatoni, but the traffic and sub-par roads between the north-south expressway and the bridge cause that three kilometers to take 45 minutes to an hour during rush hour.

Where Ratchadapisek crosses Vibhavadirangsit and to the river is actually a pretty good road, but it doesn't continue out over Rama 7 bridge but rather feeds into the stop and go of Charan Saniwong.

A few expressways feeding traffic from Bangkok and out to Thonburi/Nothonburi would go a long way to get cars off of the local streets and off the few main existing arteries.

Personally, I currently live about 2 kilometers of the new end station along the Thonburi BTS line. It takes me about 20 minutes to drive that during rush hour due to poor engineering, but even then, there is zero parking for cars, so where can I leve my car to take in the BTS? If there was parking, I would use that line almost exclusively.

[livinthailandos]

Amazing thailand at it again. No real planning. Guess have to see if bangkok will wind up like jakarta

Sent from my using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[negreanu]

Simple solution double yellow lines and ENFORCED no parking at side of major roads such as Sukhumvit and Phetburi turning a 3 lane heavy traffic road into a standstill 2 lane road.

Not rocket science.

[Businessman]

I know how to save upteen gazillion baht. Just double the speed limit and then twice as many cars can pass through the existing roads. I don't know why no politician has not proposed this yet. Oh wait a minute, there no kickback to ne made otherwise I'm sure it would be at the top of the list.

PS yes, fellow TVers, I am kidding. Well at least about the speed limit part.

sent from my mobile