Repairs set to start on Thai-Belgian Bridge
AUTHORITIES are urging motorists to avoid the Thai-Belgian Bridge as several lanes will be closed during major repair work from Monday until May 15, after a fire late last month.
The usual outbound lanes of the Thai-Belgian Bridge will undergo major repair work, starting on Monday.
“The repairs on the outbound side will conclude on April 18. During the repair, we will allow motorists to use the other side of the bridge with some extra rules,” Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) deputy permanent secretary Jaroon Meethanataworn said yesterday.
From March 20 to April 18, the inbound side of the bridge will handle only inbound traffic during the morning rush hours from 6am to 9am. It will handle only outbound traffic during evening rush hours, from 3pm to 8pm.
“During other hours of the day, we will dedicate one lane on the bridge for inbound traffic and the other for outbound traffic,” Jaroon said. He said |traffic-flow management was planned with the Traffic Police Division and Thung Mahamek Police Station.
Jaroon said work on the inbound side would start after repairs on the outbound side are done, from April 18.
“We will manage traffic flow in the same way for this phase. The whole repair job for the bridge will conclude on May 15,” he said.
May 16 marks the start of the new school semester. It is very important for Bangkok commuters that the bridge – in the heart of a traffic-congested capital – is fully operational when the new semester starts. Without the bridge at full capacity, motorists could expect serious traffic problems.
Metropolitan Police Region 5 deputy commander Pol Maj General Ketchakart Nilpradab advised motorists to avoid the bridge during its repairs.
