The underpass fiasco

[andreandre]

Phuket will never sort out it's traffic problems without good public transport.

This has been a problem in many parts of the world by the time you build the roads the traffic is just waiting to fill it up.

I saw this happening on the London ring rd the the M25 they opened stages of it when they were completed and by the time all the bits were joined up in to a circle it was full they are still making it wider now all these years later

You can't keep up with increase.

Sure, but IMO you must have the infrastructure in place first, to provide a basis for a good public transport system to benefit from..

The two go hand in hand..

[jocko]

The whole of the island is lacking that infrastructure and methinks its to late now they just can't stop throwing up building's all over the place which then makes it more difficult to build the infrastructure which should have been done first.

You know it.

Playing catch up all the time and then you get the bare minimum they even forget the pavements .

[Valentine]

The whole of the island is lacking that infrastructure and methinks its to late now they just can't stop throwing up building's all over the place which then makes it more difficult to build the infrastructure which should have been done first.

You know it.

Playing catch up all the time and then you get the bare minimum they even forget the pavements .

Like the plan to expand Chao Fa West on the section from Central past Promphan, it should have been in place before they even started the underpass. I guess there are not enough Benz's in expanding roads as there are in underpasses. Land expropriation on this island moves ridiculously slow even when someone does not even own the land (remember the case of the land behind Homeworks when they were building that waste of time shortcut). Then there is the case of the water tanks on Visit Rd to Rawai & the corner of the junction opposite Software Park, the expansion through Thalang, etc. Coming down from Lotus to the 3 way junction which is screaming to be expanded yet new motorbike shop was built right there & now some land opposite has been cleared which I hope with my glass half full that it will not be built on so that more land can be acquired there to expand the junction but this is just one of many examples.

[stevenl]

I still see very little progress being made. I suspect it will still be over a year before that mess is functional.

I love this completely illogical quote:

The Governor went on to note that the north-south lanes of the B670 million underpass under construction in front of Central Festival, are expected to be functional "after the Songkran holiday" (April 13).

“The east-west lanes should be open to traffic by October,” he said

I guess "functional" and "open to traffic" are completely different?

North-South and East-West are different

[steelepulse]

There's a whole lot of pork in these jobs. All are way overinflated except for the Anupas donated land project. These aren't union workers with full benefits here, these are Burmese making minimum wage.

9-metre-wide, 1.25 kilometre segment of road that branches south from Wichit Songkhram Road, near Makro in Kathu, had unofficially opened to traffic last week.
The land was donated by Anupas, and I assisted in securing the budget, which was about B9 million -

B670 million underpass

B800 million underpass at the Bang Koo intersection

[Valentine]

There's a whole lot of pork in these jobs. All are way overinflated except for the Anupas donated land project. These aren't union workers with full benefits here, these are Burmese making minimum wage.

9-metre-wide, 1.25 kilometre segment of road that branches south from Wichit Songkhram Road, near Makro in Kathu, had unofficially opened to traffic last week.

The land was donated by Anupas, and I assisted in securing the budget, which was about B9 million -

B670 million underpass

B800 million underpass at the Bang Koo intersection

Well done SP. We need a lot more donated land & secondary roads to prevent the island from experiencing gridlock in the not too distant future. I am sure Anuphas family will more than recoup the lost land value when they sell plots along that stretch but good luck to them & if only more landowners could see it this way.

[wtk]

any pictures of the current stage of the underpass construction for us not in phuket anymore?

[jdean]

Tuesday March 25 at 10:00 AM I could not see even one person or machine at work. Were they all in the underpass?

[Shot]

Does anyone know what the building is, being built on the NW corner of the underpass? The one with the overhang that will be taken out with an oversized load.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Shot

[GiantFan]

Does anyone know what the building is, being built on the NW corner of the underpass? The one with the overhang that will be taken out with an oversized load.

Some condo unit that went south a few years ago. Location is terrible, especially from a noise perspective. Not sure if it was related to Central or not, but they were advertising lifts or walkways that went into Central Festival direct.

[Shot]

Does anyone know what the building is, being built on the NW corner of the underpass? The one with the overhang that will be taken out with an oversized load.

Some condo unit that went south a few years ago. Location is terrible, especially from a noise perspective. Not sure if it was related to Central or not, but they were advertising lifts or walkways that went into Central Festival direct.

Agree on the condos, but this building is in front of those and right on the road. Maybe a new police box?

[Old Croc]

Does anyone know what the building is, being built on the NW corner of the underpass? The one with the overhang that will be taken out with an oversized load.

Some condo unit that went south a few years ago. Location is terrible, especially from a noise perspective. Not sure if it was related to Central or not, but they were advertising lifts or walkways that went into Central Festival direct.

Agree on the condos, but this building is in front of those and right on the road. Maybe a new police box?

Yes, it's a new building in front of the derelict condos and practically on the left turn coming from the west.

I've wondered what would happen if they ever need to expand the road sometime in the future.

[andreandre]

Does anyone know what the building is, being built on the NW corner of the underpass? The one with the overhang that will be taken out with an oversized load.

Some condo unit that went south a few years ago. Location is terrible, especially from a noise perspective. Not sure if it was related to Central or not, but they were advertising lifts or walkways that went into Central Festival direct.

Agree on the condos, but this building is in front of those and right on the road. Maybe a new police box?

Yes, it's a new building in front of the derelict condos and practically on the left turn coming from the west.

I've wondered what would happen if they ever need to expand the road sometime in the future.

I've wondered what would happen if they ever need to expand the road sometime in the future.

IMO the time in the future will be from the day this farcical effort at traffic flow improvement is opened.

Expansion at a later date will be hugely difficult and prohibitively expensive.

This whole deal was designed for the past with no thought for future growth.

[madmitch]

So, it's now 2 weeks after Songkran. Is it open yet? I always avoid the area so genuinely don't know.

[phuketsub]

Nice pic...looks just like Bangkok; just make the traffic jam into 3D.

[simon43]

I noted (with no surprise), after a recent tropical downpour, that the underpass was fuill of water......

[grumpyoldman]

I noted (with no surprise), after a recent tropical downpour, that the underpass was fuill of water......

Back to the December OP "Also, not seeing any drainage."

I think the only one going through there after days of big rains will be phuketsub.

[Old Croc]

I noted (with no surprise), after a recent tropical downpour, that the underpass was fuill of water......

Back to the December OP "Also, not seeing any drainage."

I think the only one going through there after days of big rains will be phuketsub.

I reckon I could make it!

[grumpyoldman]

I noted (with no surprise), after a recent tropical downpour, that the underpass was fuill of water......

Back to the December OP "Also, not seeing any drainage."

I think the only one going through there after days of big rains will be phuketsub.

I reckon I could make it!

You boys would enjoying the ease of travel while NamKangMan would be there to mourn the genocide of his kind. Calling it "The Great Meltdown".

My vote is for NKM to ride one of the local blue songthaew's through there after a massive rain. (For the uninformed NKM has nit in his knickers about public transpo).

Edited May 3, 2014 by grumpyoldman

[Alwayssunny]

I noted (with no surprise), after a recent tropical downpour, that the underpass was fuill of water......

Back to the December OP "Also, not seeing any drainage."

I think the only one going through there after days of big rains will be phuketsub.

I reckon I could make it!

You boys would enjoying the ease of travel while NamKangMan would be there to mourn the genocide of his kind. Calling it "The Great Meltdown".

My vote is for NKM to ride one of the local blue songthaew's through there after a massive rain. (For the uninformed NKM has nit in his knickers about public transpo).

He is obsessed with corruption and all things rip off on Phuket, makes you wonder how he survives here!

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[KarenBravo]

He is obsessed with corruption and all things rip off on Phuket, makes you wonder how he survives here!

Dunno why, as he is always on his computer posting on Thaivisa at all times of the day and night.

[grumpyoldman]

He is obsessed with corruption and all things rip off on Phuket, makes you wonder how he survives here!

Dunno why, as he is always on his computer posting on Thaivisa at all times of the day and night.

Sorry I opened that door you guys, all in jest at NKM, I think now best back to the underpass.

Question: does anyone know of a date when it will be opened?

[Alwayssunny]

Never go that way anymore, always use the new relief road, never any traffic!

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[grumpyoldman]

Never go that way anymore, always use the new relief road, never any traffic!

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

The one that goes behind the Honda Showroom?

I got stuck bigtime there coming back one day, everyone using it.

[Alwayssunny]

Yes, have been using it ever since it opened and have only ever seen a few vehicles on it! I guess like everything it all depends on what time of the day you are on it!

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Edited May 3, 2014 by Alwayssunny

[grumpyoldman]

Yes, have been using it ever since it opened and have only ever seen a few vehicles on it! I guess like everything it all depends on what time of the day you are on it!

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

As well as time of year, hi season/low season.

[madmitch]

The worst part of the relief road is when you get back to Chaofa West and need to turn right. The u-turn can be difficult and dangerous. It is used much more than the lights further up the road so sensible thinking would be to remove the island there and install lights and make the next turning north a u-turn.

Also, at the other end of the new road, the lights there have been installed for months but never switched on. Looks like they forgot about the potential new road when they installed the lights. That junction was bad before but is now horrible.

[grumpyoldman]

The worst part of the relief road is when you get back to Chaofa West and need to turn right. The u-turn can be difficult and dangerous. It is used much more than the lights further up the road so sensible thinking would be to remove the island there and install lights and make the next turning north a u-turn.

Also, at the other end of the new road, the lights there have been installed for months but never switched on. Looks like they forgot about the potential new road when they installed the lights. That junction was bad before but is now horrible.

Exactly right MM, it was early December and I think I was stuck behind at least 30 cars (at least), trying to do that turn.

[Valentine]

The worst part of the relief road is when you get back to Chaofa West and need to turn right. The u-turn can be difficult and dangerous. It is used much more than the lights further up the road so sensible thinking would be to remove the island there and install lights and make the next turning north a u-turn.

Also, at the other end of the new road, the lights there have been installed for months but never switched on. Looks like they forgot about the potential new road when they installed the lights. That junction was bad before but is now horrible.

Now that it is a 4 way junction it can be quite dangerous as vehicles speed on both sides of Wichitsongkram. Surprised there has not been a serious accident there or maybe there has already.

[Shot]

A news source that cannot be named is reporting the underpass will be completed on March six, 150 days longer than expected.

The extra work is to make sure it is not affected by flooding.

Holy crap.

Your thoughts.