News By pattayadailynews.com
Pattaya, the 23rd of April 2010 [PDN]: Several parts of the new road, which took contractors nearly 2 years to compete, have collapsed or are showing worrying signs of wear. Thappraya Road is a main artery of Pattaya, responsible for connecting South Pattaya to Jomtien with adjoining roads to the heavily populated Pratamnak Hill area.
Thappraya Road started to show signs of undue wear within a fortnight of the official opening at the end of March. A large depression in the roads surface has formed at the junction with Pratamnak Road whilst more recently, during an entire day of inclement weather, a section of the road in the Jomtien bound lane has entirely caved-in allegedly due to the insufficient drainage installed.
Several other areas in the new road have been re-laid once again, suggesting that there may have been further issues left unresolved before both lanes of traffic where opened to motorists last month.
Local residents, rightly angered by the continued delay in the construction of the road, are set for further grief as these current issues will have to be rectified. Speculation at present is that the construction of the road was rushed towards the end due to the impending commencement of the Pattaya Music Festival and Thai New Year (Songkran) celebrations.
Note: Observing the road after completion, it seems that very little if any drainage solutions have been incorporated into the final construction. Due to the unexpected inclement weather and the massive amount of heavy traffic that the road is subjected to it really is not surprising that parts of the surface have begun to give way. The question is now; what are the local administrators going to do about it? Surely a simple patch and repair job is not sufficient to avoid further collapses, injuries or possibly fatalities on such a heavily traffic road.
Link http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2010/04/23/pattaya%E2%80%99s-recently-re-laid-thappraya-road-collapses/
