Samsen Road sinkhole repair delayed after new cavity discovered
Repairs on the Samsen Road sinkhole were halted after engineers discovered two new cavities, delaying the reopening schedule to October 9.
Repair works on the sinkhole along Samsen Road, in front of Samsen Police Station, continued on Tuesday (September 30, 2025), though operations were temporarily halted after officials discovered additional cavities at the base of the sinkhole. The finding is expected to cause a minor delay to the original schedule.
Kitti Akewanlop, Assistant Governor of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), said that following yesterday’s (September 29) successful use of a 200-tonne crane to remove obstructions from the hole, workers began filling it with sand to a height of around two metres this morning.
During the process, however, two cavities of similar size were detected at the bottom, one near the site where a water pipe had been removed and the other along the wall adjacent to the Samsen Police Station building. The cavities are believed to have formed due to concrete shrinkage and cracking.
The immediate solution is to pour concrete into the cavities, a process that requires one to two hours for the concrete to set before sand filling can resume. This interruption caused a work stoppage lasting seven to eight hours.
The MRTA estimates that around 7,000–8,000 cubic metres of sand will be needed in total, requiring more than 1,000 truckloads.
Kitti admitted that transporting the sand inevitably disrupts traffic in the area. To mitigate this, 10-wheel and 6-wheel trucks have been used instead of larger trailers, with deliveries restricted to morning hours.
According to the plan, the repair work should take around five to six days to complete. Two traffic lanes are expected to reopen for public use by October 9.
Meanwhile, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has advised motorists to avoid Samsen Road between Ratchawithi Road (Soi Ratchawithi 50) and Samsen Police Station from September 30 to October 8, as the section is being used as the main route for sand transport.
The BMA apologised for the inconvenience and said the measure was necessary to expedite repairs and minimise disruption to commuters.
