CITY TRAFFIC SKYTRAIN CONSTRUCTION : Police slam Sukhumvit damage

CITY TRAFFIC SKYTRAIN CONSTRUCTION : Police slam Sukhumvit damage.

SUPOJ WANCHAROEN

Traffic police have complained of the damage done to Sukhumvit road as a result of the relocation of public utilities to clear the way for construction of the Onnuj-Samut Prakan skytrain extension. Pol Maj Supol Naksuk, deputy traffic police chief of Phra Khanong station, told a meeting on the traffic impact at City Hall yesterday that Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD), the project contractor, has also not installed enough detour signs for motorists who want to avoid traffic congestion caused by the construction site.

He insisted parts of the road, which had been dug up to allow utilities to be moved away from the site, had not been properly repaired.

So far, poor repair work has left pot holes and uneven road surfaces, sometimes causing accidents.

Underground public utility lines were relocated on Sukhumvit road from Onnuj towards Samut Prakan to pave the way for the elevated railway construction.

He expressed concern about likely bottlenecks brought on by the construction which is due to start on Sunday night.

ITD will close two traffic lanes next to the central reservation on Sukhumvit road from Sukhumvit Soi 85 to Bang Na intersection from 10 pm on Sunday. The around-the-clock closure will continue for 10 months and leave only two traffic lanes each on the inbound and outbound directions.

Recommended detours are Sukhumvit Soi 77-Srinakarin-Theparak, Thang Rod Fai Kao road, Bangkok expressway-Bang Na highway-Sukhumvit Soi 105-Soi Bearing, and Pu Chao Saming Phrai-Industrial Ring Road.

Pol Maj Supol said many more detour signs are needed.

Bangkok Deputy Governor Bannasopit Mekvichai said the ITD was in the process of installing more than 300 detour signs along Sukhumvit and adjacent roads.

The 5.25-km skytrain extension route is expected to be completed in mid-2009.

Bangkok Post
Friday January 12, 2007