Work is underway to widen sections of Route 408 under a 280 million baht, 570 day project.

408 runs south along the coast. Currently it is a divided highway through SinghaNakhon and Satingpra, but then it turns into a regular road north of that. This project will make it a divided highway all the way from NST to Singhanakhon.

It'll take years. They re-surfaced a stretch of road between Sattahip & Pattaya. First they scraped all the old tarmac off leaving a loose surface which caused enormous dust clouds along this 5 kms stretch. They left it for weeks. Suddenly machines arrived & put down the new black stuff on the main road but leaving a treacherous drop to the motorbike lanes on either side. No signs, of course that one lane was going to be closed so motorists were forced to brake & merge 2 into 1 (mind you the police do this all the time!).Some weeks later they did the markings. This beautiful 5 kms stretch of new road is sandwiched between the old sections with no sign that they are going to tackle that EVER.

Without consulting a map....that would be going through Ranot?

MIL won't be happy.

Without consulting a map....that would be going through Ranot?

MIL won't be happy.

Yes, most if not all of the work will be in Ranode. Many families will find their bedrooms perched right on the breakdown lane when it is done.

I hope yours in-law are not among them.

For me, it's a positive. That stretch has always been crazy, white-knuckle territory with all the crazy overtaking, meandering salaeng, etc.

If my house were on the road I would be against it, but this is pretty obviously not the time for protest..

I also found out recently that they have also approved funding for another huge flyover project at Hayak Kor Yor, the five way junction where Rt 408 crosses Kanjanawanich Rd, and not far from where the "new road" and "old road" to Haad Yai separate.

It's hard to believe how bad the traffic is there on a Friday afternoon -- the worst anywhere in the south I am aware of outside Phuket.

I can still remember the days when there wasn't even a traffic light there...

Below is an 'artists conception' of what the massive new flyover at Kor Yor 5-way junction (in tambon Pawong, Songkhla) will look like when complete. Funding has been approved. This sign is on Kanjanawanich outbound, about 2km from the junction. For those that don't read Thai, this is the perspective from the Southeast quadrant looking east towards Haad Yai.

The highest elevated span will shoot north-south (from Pattani >< NST) traffic right over the top. I think this is the biggest flyover project of its type ever in the South -- even bigger than the ones done/ongoing in Phuket.

I remember the days you could just roll through from any direction; no traffic or tailbacks, with just a single blinking yellow light advising caution.