Not So Friendly: Thai-Belgian Friendship bridge closed for minimum of 30 days after fire

By Coconuts Bangkok 

 

 

BANGKOK: -- Following yesterday’s raging fire, the Thai-Belgian Friendship Bridge on Rama IV Road will remain closed for safety for a minimum of 30 days — but possibly as many as 45 days.

 

Workers will test the flyover and repair the structure where it has been weakened from the blaze, which started in garbage bins stored under it.

 

The director of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Construction and Maintenance Office, Thiti Songcharoenkij, announced that the initial testing of the bridge determined that the steel beams that support the bridge had been damaged on the outbound lane side but were in better shape on the inbound side.

 

Full story: https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/not-friendly-thai-belgian-friendship-bridge-closed-minimum-30-days-fire/

 

-- © Copyright Coconuts Bangkok 2017-03-01

 

 

Highlights the traffic volume and chaos when a small 200-300 metre elevated road is closed . The sois as well as the main routes around Rama 4 are almost at a standstill


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Thai-Belgian Flyover partly reopened after fire damage
By The Nation

 

 

BANGKOK: -- The inbound lanes of the Thai-Belgian Flyover near Lumpini Park in Bangkok was scheduled to be open for motorists’ use on Wednesday afternoon, as its structure remains intact and after being slightly damaged from a blaze that broke out in garbage bins under this four-lane bridge on Tuesday morning.

 

The outbound lanes heading towards Klong Toei, however, were severely damaged and will be closed for repairs for 45 days.

 

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/breakingnews/30307605

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-03-01

I remember what it was like before the bridge was constructed... it was hell then and 30 years ago were less cars.....

I may be wrong but I am fairly sure I remember that this "Mecano", bolt together bridge, was built in just a few days and was always intended to be a temporary structure; eventually - shortly in fact - to be replaced by a more permanent structure.

 

Obviously that never happened - but it has been "refurbished" and "resurfaced" many times over the past 30 years or so.

 

Now, after years of delay and time-wasting we finally arrive at the point where the bridge must be closed and Bangkok citizens have to accept the horrendous traffic consequences.

 

I missed my Tee time at the RBSC this morning!

 

Patrick

 

 

23 minutes ago, p_brownstone said:

I may be wrong but I am fairly sure I remember that this "Mecano", bolt together bridge, was built in just a few days and was always intended to be a temporary structure; eventually - shortly in fact - to be replaced by a more permanent structure.

 

Obviously that never happened - but it has been "refurbished" and "resurfaced" many times over the past 30 years or so.

 

Now, after years of delay and time-wasting we finally arrive at the point where the bridge must be closed and Bangkok citizens have to accept the horrendous traffic consequences.

 

I missed my Tee time at the RBSC this morning!

 

Patrick

 

 

 

My understanding is that you are wrong ... it didn't take a few days, it took one day as I understand

31 minutes ago, p_brownstone said:

I may be wrong but I am fairly sure I remember that this "Mecano", bolt together bridge, was built in just a few days and was always intended to be a temporary structure; eventually - shortly in fact - to be replaced by a more permanent structure.

 

Obviously that never happened - but it has been "refurbished" and "resurfaced" many times over the past 30 years or so.

 

Now, after years of delay and time-wasting we finally arrive at the point where the bridge must be closed and Bangkok citizens have to accept the horrendous traffic consequences.

 

I missed my Tee time at the RBSC this morning!

 

Patrick

 

 

I think that you missed the part that described the fire that caused the closure, the bridge's closure had nothing at all to do with "delays or time wasting".

40 minutes ago, p_brownstone said:

I may be wrong but I am fairly sure I remember that this "Mecano", bolt together bridge, was built in just a few days

 

Patrick

 

14 minutes ago, exalll said:

My understanding is that you are wrong ... it didn't take a few days, it took one day as I understand

You are both wrong, obviously.  The construction of a flyover such as this can never be completed in that time scale.

Edited March 1, 20179 yr by gdgbb

17 minutes ago, gdgbb said:

 

You are both wrong, obviously.  The construction of a flyover such as this can never be completed in that time scale.

We cannot post links to the BP, but Google "construction of Belgian-Thai bridge" and click on the 2013 BP article.  It took "less than a day" to erect

16 minutes ago, gdgbb said:

 

You are both wrong, obviously.  The construction of a flyover such as this can never be completed in that time scale.

Sorry to contradict but it was built over a weekend. The bridge was donated as I remember by the Belgium govt to support a bid by a Belgium bus company to sell a number of buses here. In Belgium this type of bridge is/was used as a temporary flyover when roadworks were under way. The foundations were installed in advance but the bridge structure completed over 1 -2 days. The Belgium bus company did not get the bus sale. As they say this is Thailand.  

18 minutes ago, kennw said:

Sorry to contradict but it was built over a weekend. The bridge was donated as I remember by the Belgium govt to support a bid by a Belgium bus company to sell a number of buses here. In Belgium this type of bridge is/was used as a temporary flyover when roadworks were under way. The foundations were installed in advance but the bridge structure completed over 1 -2 days. The Belgium bus company did not get the bus sale. As they say this is Thailand.  

Laying foundations isn't part of the bridges construction then?

31 minutes ago, exalll said:

We cannot post links to the BP, but Google "construction of Belgian-Thai bridge" and click on the 2013 BP article.  It took "less than a day" to erect

 

28 minutes ago, kennw said:

Sorry to contradict but it was built over a weekend.

Part of the bridge may have been erected in a day but the bridge was, in no way, built in one day as p_brownstone claimed and exalll "confirmed" and all available links confirm that including exalll's.

Edited March 1, 20179 yr by gdgbb

The hard working police controlling that intersection were already  deeply challenged the complexity of their job. 

 

I sometimes used to walk from Lumpini Park to Q House.  Many times the lights were changed when I was in the middle of the intersection. 

 

I pity any pedestrian trying to cross that intersection now. 

5 minutes ago, ricklev said:

The hard working police controlling that intersection were already  deeply challenged the complexity of their job. 

 

I sometimes used to walk from Lumpini Park to Q House.  Many times the lights were changed when I was in the middle of the intersection. 

 

I pity any pedestrian trying to cross that intersection now. 

 

May be dead simple to walk across with the cars not moving at all.

Edited March 1, 20179 yr by impulse

The steel structure has melted and needs to be ripped out and replaced. The replacement will be coming from the dismantled Ratyochin flyover . I don't know how far along on that one they are but I imagine that is why it's going to take so long to do Rama IV. One of the reasons the traffic congestion has so increased in Bangkok is that the police have turned off the computerised central controls which co-ordinate the traffic lights and each intersection  is handled separately. The police say it has sped up traffic. I believe we all know the answer to that.

....Didnt know there was a bridge between Thailand and Belgium.

Yes, this was erected in 1984 and was only intended to be used for six months pending the construction of a fully fledged flyover. It was lent by the Belgian military. Somehow the flyover was never built and the money designated for it's construction disappeared, and the temporary military bridge has remained in place to this day.

'... the flyover ... has been weakened from the blaze, which started in garbage bins stored under it.'

 

And when all is repaired, things will return to normal, no doubt.

4 hours ago, Thaidream said:

The steel structure has melted and needs to be ripped out and replaced. The replacement will be coming from the dismantled Ratyochin flyover . I don't know how far along on that one they are but I imagine that is why it's going to take so long to do Rama IV. One of the reasons the traffic congestion has so increased in Bangkok is that the police have turned off the computerised central controls which co-ordinate the traffic lights and each intersection  is handled separately. The police say it has sped up traffic. I believe we all know the answer to that.

First I knew that the lights were coordinated. 

16 hours ago, gdgbb said:

I think that you missed the part that described the fire that caused the closure, the bridge's closure had nothing at all to do with "delays or time wasting".

By "delays and time wasting" I was referring to the fact that the Bridge was only ever meant to be a temporary installation and a permanent, properly constructed Bridge was supposed to replace it in very short order.

 

That never happend; but if it HAD been replaced then the fire would not have caused such damage to the Bridge.

 

Patrick

Who gives a sh*t how or when this busy fly over was built. The story should be, who were the idiots

that stored all those plastic containers under it that caught fire and damaged the bridge.

Those people should be charged and have to pay for this damage to the bridge.

5 hours ago, p_brownstone said:

By "delays and time wasting" I was referring to the fact that the Bridge was only ever meant to be a temporary installation and a permanent, properly constructed Bridge was supposed to replace it in very short order.

 

That never happend; but if it HAD been replaced then the fire would not have caused such damage to the Bridge.

 

Patrick

Delays and time wasting weren't the cause of anything relating to this flyover.  The bridge as initially constructed was fit for use as demonstrated by being in use for so many years without needing replacement and BMA has had no need to even consider replacing it. 

 

If it had been replaced and there had been another similar fire it is more than likely that exactly the same damage would have been done, unless you are suggesting that the original Belgian parts supplied to Thailand were sub-standard (they weren't).

2 hours ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Who gives a sh*t how or when this busy fly over was built. The story should be, who were the idiots

that stored all those plastic containers under it that caught fire and damaged the bridge.

Those people should be charged and have to pay for this damage to the bridge.

Who gives a shi t about who stored the bins there (it's no mystery, it was the BMA). 

 

As using the space under the bridge was not committing any offence, what offence would you charge the BMA with?  Maybe some people do give a shi t about who actually caused the fire though, by providing an ignition source.  Storage alone wasn't the cause, that's for sure.

If these plastic bin were not stored there, there would have been no fire, you dolt.

I don't care who built the fly over or when,, and actually do not care who was so 

stupid as to have that much plastic under the fly over. Plastic burns very hot or did you not notice.

So if this BMA has to pay for their stupidity good for them, pay for it.

  Do uou keep bins in your house like this?

Geezer