Underpass solution to Bangkoo traffic jams
PHUKET: A plan to build an underpass at the Bangkoo Intersection, where the bypass road meets Thepkrassattri Rd, may be on its way to becoming a reality, after the Department of Highways (DoH) and local people agreed on Friday (February 18) that this was the best solution to current traffic problems.
Tuesday 21 February 2012, 03:04PM
The DoH is also confident that it has come up with an effective solution to a previous stumbling block – that a subterranean waterway flows beneath the existing intersection (see here for earlier story).
At the meeting, the underpass proposal received support as being a more environmentally-friendly option than an overpass, though it will require the use of more sophisticated engineering techniques and will cost more.
According to the initial concept put forward by the DoH, the underpass will carry northbound through-traffic along Thepkrassattri Rd, with two car lanes and a motorbike lane.
At the intersection, one more lane will be added to the seven existing surface lanes to create more traffic space.
Where the underpass dives underground a new landmark and garden will be created.
Detail design and an environmental impact assessment will be compiled soon, before the underpass plan is put before the government with a request for budget, expected to be somewhere between B400 million and B500 million.
The DoH has scheduled another public hearing for March 1 to get more feedback in order to tweak the design.
