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‘Keep traffic moving’, Phuket underpass contractors told
The Phuket News


Contractors for the three underpass tunnels under construction in Phuket were told to keep traffic moving. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

PHUKET: -- Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat has ordered construction companies to keep traffic flow a top priority while three underpass tunnels are under construction at Samkong, Bang Khu and Chalong.

The order came at a meeting with officials with officials and traffic police at Provincial Hall yesterday (June 21).

“People should be the least affected by the construction, and so I have ordered the contractors in each area to come up with plans to keep traffic moving,” V/Gov Chokdee said after the meeting.

Updates on the progress made at each underpass site were also presented at the meeting, he added.

“We were told that construction of the Sam Kong Underpass is about 80 per cent complete. The project is 19% behind schedule,” V/Gov Chokdee said.

“Construction at Bang Khu (at the junction of Thepkrasattri Rd and the bypass road) is 49% complete, and 22% ahead of schedule.

“But construction of the Chalong Underpass is only 2% complete, and already 10% behind schedule,” he added.

“Limited space seems to be a problem at the the Bang Khu underpass. Regardless, the contractor was told to make more room or add another lane to reduce traffic congestion near the construction area because traffic is very bad especially during rush hours,” V/Gov Chokdee said.

“For the Chalong Underpass, the delay is due to the removal of public utilities and issues with land ownership. The latter can take some times to resolve,” he said.

Full story: http://www.thephuketnews.com/keep-traffic-moving-phuket-underpass-contractors-told-57970.php


-- Phuket News 2016-06-23

[grumpyoldman]

Completion over/under punt anyone?

“For the Chalong Underpass, the delay is due to the removal of public utilities and issues with land ownership. The latter can take some times to resolve,” he said.

3 years? Does anyone think by June 23rd 2019 the Chalong underpass will be fully completed?

I'm saying over...........clustertruck til then !

[steelepulse]

Completion over/under punt anyone?

“For the Chalong Underpass, the delay is due to the removal of public utilities and issues with land ownership. The latter can take some times to resolve,” he said.

3 years? Does anyone think by June 23rd 2019 the Chalong underpass will be fully completed?

I'm saying over...........clustertruck til then !

Kind of makes you wonder why they didn't sort out the obstacles before commencing, but then again, it doesn't make you wonder. Land ownership issues can take years in the courts if any of the news reports about other land issues are anything to go by.

[stevenl]

Sam Kong 19% behind schedule is I presume the new, already one year late schedule?

[bearpolar]

Samkong the day after they opened the southbound tunnel, the road was already completely destroyed. There's about half a lane wide of "ok" pavement. The rest is holes and caved in. They had weeks to prepare the entrence up to the concrete street and they managed to make it so good that it was done after a few hours.

So now we have bikes and slow cars moving right and blocking everyone that wants to go faster than 20kph, traffic is going to get crazy once it rains and those holes grow in the caved in road.

Makes me certain that the side road will be made the same way and 1 week after they re-open they will be hazardous.

[useronthenet]

In the majority of cases, an overpass instead would have sufficed. Needless-to-say, it would be interesting to know if these changes have dramatically improved the traffic?

[LivinginKata]

In the majority of cases, an overpass instead would have sufficed. Needless-to-say, it would be interesting to know if these changes have dramatically improved the traffic?

Overpass not considered beautiful by Phuket locals.

[macahoom]

"19% behind schedule"

"22% ahead of schedule"

I have never heard behind/ahead of schedule measured as a percentage.

Is it only me?

[keeniau96]

I have read that the next buggerup is due at the airport turnoff from Thepkassetri. The plan is for work that to be like the current one under construction at Bang Ku, near Boat Lagoon. That one is being done by Ital-Thai and seems to be progressing quite well but is a monster traffic snarl all day long. Also in the works are two overpasses on Thepkassetri north of the Heroines circle. Note the overpasses, maybe something has been learned from the three disasters.

[DrDave]

Sam Kong 19% behind schedule is I presume the new, already one year late schedule?

I was thinking the same thing, Steven. 19% behind the original schedule (the one where construction was to be completed by this time last year)? Or the first revision - end of 2015? Or maybe the newest revision (next month, I believe)?

I don't think we've seen the end of schedule revisions, because there's absolutely no way it'll be finished next month.

I suppose that with each revision, the 1 million baht per day late penalty was waived. I'm guessing someone's accumulating a lot of pocket change with all of these schedule revisions and penalty waivers.

[DrDave]

In the majority of cases, an overpass instead would have sufficed. Needless-to-say, it would be interesting to know if these changes have dramatically improved the traffic?

Overpass not considered beautiful by Phuket locals.

That would be reason #2.

Reason #1: not nearly as much baht can be skimmed from a cheaper, less disruptive, more cost-effective and shorter project.

[PoorSucker]

Meanwhile in Holland.....

http://i.imgur.com/kb15j2X.mp4

[LivinginKata]

Meanwhile in Holland.....

http://i.imgur.com/kb15j2X.mp4

That was impressive - 3 days for an underpass to be completed.

[bearpolar]

Meanwhile in Holland.....

http://i.imgur.com/kb15j2X.mp4

That was impressive - 3 days for an underpass to be completed.

probably not impressive if you hire competent people

80% of the work force on the samkong underpass is women in large hats with broomsticks shooting dirt on cars

[madmitch]

I used the Samkong Underpass in both directions today and it looks old and tatty, the road is already uneven and it wouldn't surprise me to see potholes soon. In a country where business contracts aren't offered by the size of an envelope, surely Civil Engineering Co., Ltd, would have been sacked from both this and the Chalong job long ago.

I see the new guy is arriving from Prachuap Khiri Khan. They don't seem to have a problem with overpasses there - there are several in the Hua Hin vicinity - so perhaps some different thinking ahead. But I doubt it!

The airport underpass seems to have gone quiet. I still don't understand that one as the hold-ups there are minor.

[Deli]

Meanwhile in Holland.....

http://i.imgur.com/kb15j2X.mp4

They don't know playing football but they can built roads pretty fast

[useronthenet]

Meanwhile in Holland.....

http://i.imgur.com/kb15j2X.mp4

Yeah the Dutch don't mess around, unlike the Thais !

[Valentine]

I used the Samkong Underpass in both directions today and it looks old and tatty, the road is already uneven and it wouldn't surprise me to see potholes soon. In a country where business contracts aren't offered by the size of an envelope, surely Civil Engineering Co., Ltd, would have been sacked from both this and the Chalong job long ago.

I see the new guy is arriving from Prachuap Khiri Khan. They don't seem to have a problem with overpasses there - there are several in the Hua Hin vicinity - so perhaps some different thinking ahead. But I doubt it!

The airport underpass seems to have gone quiet. I still don't understand that one as the hold-ups there are minor.

Surely they will be putting asphalt over the existing & bumpy concrete road.

[LivinginKata]

So I pulled up this now 4 month old news report ...

 

“For the Chalong Underpass, the delay is due to the removal of public utilities and issues with land ownership. The latter can take some times to resolve,” he said.

 

Just today I see them moving some HV electric poles, and I see 2 mobile boom cranes with big digging grab buckets. So maybe (maybe ?) we might see some actual underpass digging begin ....

 

I see another HUGE construction over run here for the next 2 or 3 years.

 

 

[Psimbo]

Interesting that the one that IS going well is being done by a company with a  good reputation in the construction industry- funny that! Maybe they should get a bonus for every day UNDER the contract period they can bring the project in.