PHUKET: Patong Police have issued a map providing an alternative route now that a one-kilometre section of Phra Metta Rd, one of the main roads through the tourism town, has been closed for flood-prevention works to be carried out.
The section of Phra Mettha Rd affected is from Soi Banzaan to Soi Nanai Ruamjai (Soi Nanai 8). The section of road was closed to all traffic on Tuesday (June 20).
The road was originally announced to be closed to all traffic until Aug 26. However, according to the notice issued by Patong Police, the alternative routes around the flood-prevention works are to remain in effect until only July 5. No clarification has been provided.
The road was closed to traffic so work can be carried out on installing “sand trap (SP1)” near the wastewater treatment plant, police explained in their initial announcement.
Patong Police in their latest notice explained that southbound traffic approaching the closed section of road are advised to turn left onto Soi Banzaan then turn right onto Nanai Rd and continue their journey southbound.
Traffic entering Patong from the south are advised to either turn left or right at the roundabout at the southern end of the town to avoid the affected area altogether.
Northbound traffic can either turn left along Prachanukroh Rd and continue their journey north along the Thaweewong Rd (the Patong beach road). Alternatively, motorists can turn right and continue north along Nanai Rd, then turn left onto Soi Banzaan, then right back onto Phra Metta Rd and continue their journey northbound from there.
The southern section of Phra Metta Rd, before it was given the temporary name Phang Muang Sai Kor Rd (literally “Town Plan Route B”), was known simply as “Soi Tun” (literally “Dead End Street). The section of road is now again literally a dead end.
FLOOD PREVENTION
Patong Deputy Mayor Sanakorn Kisin on Tuesday (June 21) inspected the road closure to discuss the impact on traffic with police. Joining Deputy Mayor Sanakorn were fellow Patong Municipality councillors and officers from the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning.
The construction of the sand trap, called “SP1”, is part of the flood-prevention system, said a report by Patong Municipality. The construction period is 70 days, from June 20 to Aug 26. . People were asked to avoid using the said route.
Of note, the affected section of Phra Metta Rd was originally announced to be closed to all traffic until Aug 26. However, according to the notice issued by Patong Police, the alternative routes around the flood-prevention works are to remain in effect until only July 5. No clarification has been provided.
The section of area to undergo the installation of a “sand trap” was identified as the main cause of extensive flooding in the area in November last year.
The incident drew the attention of Pongrat Piromrat, Director-General of the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning for the whole country, who travelled from Bangkok to inspect the construction site firsthand.
Mr Pongrat was told that construction of the project to expand the drains had been ongoing since 2016. Under the government contract, the deadline for completing the project is this month, November 2021, said an official report of the visit.
However, the project, operating under a budget of “about B222 million”, had not yet been completed.
BUSINESS IMPACT
The works finally continuing will have a dire impact on many businesses along the affected section of road.
However, owners and operators of hotels, guesthouses and other businesses along the west side of Phra Metta Rd near the intersection with Soi Rat U-Thit 200 Pi 2 (which passes the wastewater treatment plant and was once called “Soi Nam Sia ‒ literally “Wastewater Street”), may find the works a blessing.
The west side of the street along that section of Phra Metta Rd has been closed for years due to a roadworks project remaining incomplete for reasons that remain unexplained, other than the contractor has yet to complete it.
Operators along that section of road have suffered with no direct street access to the businesses, and without even streetlights installed, Patong Municipality has been blamed for rising crime in the area.
