Motorway 7 closed?

[cumgranosalum]

It would appear from my maps that the motorway 7 is closed at the Laem Chabang junction.... As is the spur to Laem Chabang.

Can anyone confirm this? Or suggest why....

[Soutpeel]

Which maps are they ? There is a lot of road works around that area with detours onto the service road

[NanLaew]

GPS maps?

Hardly likely to close Highway 7 are they? Maybe some restricted lanes if they are opening up the flyovers and new ramps.

When I left 10 days ago, the detours onto the feeders in the area were no longer there and it was all a straight shot. They even have a strange fourth lane with yellow markings on it that some are using as an 'go even faster' lane but most drivers are cagey about it.

[cumgranosalum]

Yes GPS.... The "no entry" signssigns just popped up...... Was thinking of heading down that way later today

[cumgranosalum]

OK... They've gone now..... Maybe it was something to do with bridge building that they were doing overnight.

On second or third glance, they are still there... But it looks on zoom like they have just closed a few slip roads.... Check it out on Google.

[cumgranosalum]

GPS maps?

Hardly likely to close Highway 7 are they? Maybe some restricted lanes if they are opening up the flyovers and new ramps.

When I left 10 days ago, the detours onto the feeders in the area were no longer there and it was all a straight shot. They even have a strange fourth lane with yellow markings on it that some are using as an 'go even faster' lane but most drivers are cagey about it.

Hardly likely to close Highway 7 are they?

<snip>

[Don Mega]

Due to all thew road works on that laem chabang road I find it quicker to keep going up the 7 and take the 36 turn off then back around to Suk road and then into Laem Chabang.

[cumgranosalum]

I travel down that way every day to Amata and Rating..... I don't usually use a map... I was just looking at it this morning and noticed the road closed signs.

I actually find it more convenient to do a lot of that route on the frontage roads.... However the signage at the Laem Chabang Junction leaves a lot to be desired... Even if you read enough Thai to identify the town names...

[NanLaew]

GPS maps?

Hardly likely to close Highway 7 are they? Maybe some restricted lanes if they are opening up the flyovers and new ramps.

When I left 10 days ago, the detours onto the feeders in the area were no longer there and it was all a straight shot. They even have a strange fourth lane with yellow markings on it that some are using as an 'go even faster' lane but most drivers are cagey about it.

Hardly likely to close Highway 7 are they?

<snip>

<snip> I suggested temporary closures that you have confirmed (sort of).

And as Don says, there's way around any lengthy closures. You could even use your.... GPS!

[Jai Dee]

An inflammatory comment and subsequent reply have been removed from this thread.

[cumgranosalum]

As someone who has driven extensively around Thailand for over 15 years, I'm aware that it is quite common for Thai authorities to close main roads with little or no notice - especially in the English Language media. There is considerable construction going on at this junction and it is well within the realms of reality that they would choose night-time or w/e to do major work such as finishing a bridge.........so I think it is quite possible that the entire motorway may have been closed. It would also be very likely that a diversion would not have been fully planned or signed.

furthermore it is also possible that there may have been a major civil engineering mishap - (bridge collapse) that could have unexpectedly closed the motorway.

as it happens it appears that Google updated itself on the lanes that have been closed most of last week. the junction has changed considerably over the last 3 months - the closure of the main carriageway that existed for about 4 months has ended and you are now left to navigate the new network of uncompleted bridges and slip roads that eventually will comprise the new junction once completed.

The way these works have been handled is deplorable yet expected.....At night the road and junctions are strewn with unmarked/unlit signs and unaligned unpainted chunks of concrete barriers - it is only by luck that there hasn't been a major accident there.

Anyone driving this road currently will know that there are some hugely dangerous design problems that have already resulted in accidents (e.g. on Friday Lunchtime at the southbound junction just South of PTT services. 2 collisions resulted in a bottleneck for about 1.5 hours.

the access points from the frontage road onto the main carriage way are simply insane and their positioning is infrequent and haphazard......I would suggest therefore that it is only a matter of time before a major collision closes the road at some point.

[Don Mega]

They would not have closed the road without a diversion put in place as it is the main feed road to the port.

[cumgranosalum]

They would not have closed the road without a diversion put in place as it is the main feed road to the port.

I think you are naively optimistic on that count - Look, if it was a civil engineering failure or road accident, they would not have had notice, and I've had multiple experiences where "diversions" been been cobbled together with such haste they aren't signed or simply can't cope with the traffic.

A Classic example of this was the building of the Kanchanaspprisek Bridge, where the road simply wasn't accessible from the expressway, you had to approach only at ground level - this was not signed - it was left to motorists to overshoot and work there own way back.

Travelling through there at night a few years ago, i was lucky to see the "chonburi" sign as it was handwritten (only in Thai) in black paint on a scrap piece of wood and tied to a post in the mud.

At one point near Eastern Seaboard a few years back after rain it was only possible to use a "diversion" they'd constructed if you had 4WD - others had to disappear toward Sri Racha until they found a U-turn...it would not be the first time I've had to engage 4WD to get through what some engineer considered to be a "diversion". the resulting chaos is of course a tailback that can last for hours.....and further collisions.

[metisdead]

Motorway 7 is most likely not closed, most likely some construction diversions along the way, follow the flow of traffic and you should be ok.

Closed.