The underpass was closed for five hours as recently as last Friday night (Feb 23) so that works could be carried out on some of the entry and exit signal lights. (See story here.)
However, the errant traffic-flow lights at the southern end of the tunnel as of today (Feb 27) remain uncorrected, while the lane lights above the northern entrance to the tunnel were not working at all.
Regardless, electrical technician Warakorn Jawana told The Phuket News this morning (Feb 27), “The works carried out on Friday (Feb 23) by the construction firm Italian-Thai Development (ITD) were focused on the signal lights and the entry and exit.
“They conducted checks on the electrical system and lights, but there is still much more to do.”
However, Mr Warakorn did confirm that the lane lights will be fixed during the next tunnel closure for maintenance.
During the same closure, workers will conduct further repairs to the lights inside the tunnel and the drainage system.
“They are in the process of buying new light bulbs and other materials to repair the inside tunnel lights, the entry and exit lights and do some maintenance on the drainage system. Hopefully this will all be done in one go to reduce the disruption to people,” Mr Warakorn said.
“I am not sure yet which day exactly, the Highways Department will have to hold a meeting with the firm to decide when we will close the underpass to carry out these works. It will most likely be at night, sometime next week.”
“We will let the media know again after the meeting,” he said.