Thappraya road; it’s been the biggest road construction mess in Pattaya, and it’s had some stiff competition.
The perceived problem was that the four lane dual carriageway was inadequate. With the inside lane being used for parking, that only left a single lane for traffic on each side. And so they embarked on a project to widen the road to three lanes on each side. The end result would be an inside lane for parking, a middle lane for double parking, and a single lane of moving traffic; so the effective increase in efficiency was nil.
I measured the length of road today, 5.5 kilometres. I am not sure of the exact start date, but that must equate to more than a year construction time per kilometre, surely a new low in a country which is actually rather good at laying new roads.
Of course, it is still not complete. They are still surfacing some patches, the central reservations look like shit, and there is assorted rubble lying around. But, you can start at one end and weave your way past parked cars all the way to the other, 5.5 kilometres of six lane highway.
Except, you can’t. It’s actually more like 5.45 kilometres of six lane highway and 50 metres of this:
This is the last piece of the road, where happy motorists are meant to have bypassed Jomtien beach and will join Chayapruk road for their onward journey. Well, you can still do that, provided you don’t mind stressing your suspension.
More than five years, endless dust, mess, inconvenience and taxpayers money (thankfully not mine); and the result is a slightly wider road which doesn’t actually run to the end.
Great; what’s next?
Comments 🔗
2011-08-23| Calvin saysI take it that’s the bit you were telling me about on Sunday
2011-08-23| Spike saysI have no recollection of what I said this morning, let alone last Sunday.
2011-08-24| Pomtong saysSome parts between Pratamnak and Theprasit were washed away by rain shortly after finishing the main deck last year… Seems they forgot some adequate water drainage
And now, after the heavy rain a week or so ago, all water flow down the new second road Jomtien and assembled in front of the bar centre opposite soi 5 to 7. I saw some motorbikes dying in the around 50 cm deep water that evening