Work on Ratchada-Ratchapruek tunnel continues to be a nightmare for people 5 years on
The saga of the seemingly endless construction of the 1.5-kilometre-long traffic underpass on the Thonburi side continues to frustrate people, as the construction has not been completed five years after work began.
Even Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt posted on his Facebook wall on Sunday that he was tired of making inspection trips to the Ratchada-Ratchapruek tunnel.
“I’ve come here [to inspect] until I became bored. The Mall, Tha Phra. This is definitely a seven-generation project,” Chadchart posted.
The project to build a 1.5-km underpass with two lanes on each traffic direction linking the Ratchada and Ratchapruek roads near the The Mall Tha Phra shopping mall started in 2018.
The construction has been going on at a slow pace, prompting it to be labelled a “seven-generation tunnel construction”.
The contractor explained that the work was slow because they had to coordinate with the Metropolitan Electricity Authority and the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority to relocate their underground cables and water pipes.
On September 1 last year, the BMA allowed motorists to start using the tunnel from 5am to 10pm.
The work led to the closure of two traffic lanes, on each side of the tunnel, and the demolition of sidewalks, prompting both motorists and pedestrians to protest the inconvenience.
Earlier, the contractor was asked to speed up the work last month, but as of Sunday when Chadchart made an inspection trip, a lot of work was still pending on parts of the road.
