Erosion a key factor in footpath |collapse
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The Rama III Road footpath that collapsed on Monday was probably a combination of two factors: the collapse of a soil-holding wall and water erosion.
The section of footpath that collapsed was almost 3 metres deep, 5m wide and 22ms long, stretching from Soi 21 to 23 in Bangkok’s Bang Kho Laem district.
The city’s deputy governor Theerachon Manomaipibul, who inspected the site yesterday morning, said initial inspection had revealed that the subsidence resulted from the collapse of a soil holding wall combined with water erosion, as the site was next to the Bang Khlo drainage canal.
He said though the footpath was constantly improved, it finally gave in to weight pressures, which also affected the soil-holding wall.
Theerachon said officials would first retrieve materials that had fallen into the roadside canal.
The Engineering Institute of Thailand and related agencies have been contacted to inspect the subsidence and redesign the infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the Engineering Institute will today announce the result of its investigation into the Rama IV Road sinkhole that appeared on March 18.
The institute’s secretary-general Thanes Veerasiri said early findings indicated that the sinkhole resulted from water that had originally leaked into an underground void then run out, leaving a big hole underground.
