Rama II Road expansion on track for completion this year: Suriya

The Transport Ministry has expressed confidence that all three ongoing projects on Rama II Road – dubbed the “endless highway” due to constant construction – will be completed by the end of this year.  

Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit has instructed the Highways Department to monitor progress of all construction contracts tightly and curb their PM2.5 dust emissions.

Suriya offered updates on key projects along the road, officially known as Highway 35. 

Construction of the double-deck Rama III-Dao Khanong-Outer Bangkok Ring Road, overseen by the Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT), is currently 87.06% complete and scheduled for completion by November this year.

The 25-kilometre elevated Intercity Motorway No 82 (M82), connecting Bang Khun Thian, Ekachai, and Ban Phaeo, is also scheduled for completion in November. The Bang Khun Thian-Ekachai section (three contracts) is 98.42% complete, while the Ekachai-Ban Phaeo section (10 contracts) is 70.60% complete.  

Selection of private investors to install system works is expected by 2025-2026, with work scheduled to finish in 2028.  Tolls will be waived during the system installation phase.
 

Regarding the Rama III-Dao Khanong-Outer Bangkok Ring Road, Suriya reported varying levels of progress across its five contracts.  

As of January 2025, Contract 1 is 81.70% complete, Contract 2 is 94.72%, Contract 3 is 83.78%, Contract 4 is finished and operational, and Contract 5 is at 2.69%. All contracts are reportedly ahead of schedule, and efforts are being made to accelerate construction by increasing manpower and equipment.  

Suriya said he hoped the route would open to the public in 2025.

Meanwhile, the Highways Department is deploying water trucks to spray roads and central reservations to reduce PM2.5.  If PM2.5 levels exceed 50 micrograms per cubic metre, high-pressure water mist is being used to capture dust particles in affected areas.
 

Apirat Chaiwongnoi, Highways Dept director-general, provided further details on the M82 project.  The Bang Khun Thian-Ekachai interchange contracts are all scheduled for completion in February or March 2025.  The Ekachai-Ban Phaeo section contracts are scheduled for completion from August to November 2025, with the Ban Phaeo project itself due for completion in November 2025.

The investigation into the latest construction accident on the road – a crane collapse on the M82 in Samut Sakhon that killed six workers on November 29 last year – is expected to deliver its final findings within a month.

The investigation committee has tentatively concluded that unsafe working practices were the cause, and further witness interviews are being conducted.