Chadchart says traffic reopening in front of Vajira Hospital indefinitely postponed

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt announced on Thursday that the reopening of traffic on Samsen Road, in front of Vajira Hospital, has been indefinitely postponed. This is due to the time required to reinforce the land in the sinkhole before it can be refilled.

Chadchart had initially expected the road to reopen by Thursday morning but said the reopening would now be delayed for several days. The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) and its contractor had changed their approach to refilling the massive sinkhole.

The contractor will reinforce the land before refilling it. A major part of the process involves drilling into the ground to check the soil layers and reinforce them using cement or grouting techniques. Once the soil layers are stable, the contractor will proceed with refilling the sinkhole.

The sinkhole formed on the morning of September 24 when soil was washed away by water from a leaking tap water pipe, which flowed into a subway tunnel under construction.

The Bangkok governor stated that although rain was expected in Bangkok on Thursday, both the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the contractor were not overly concerned. The soil in the sinkhole has already been significantly reinforced.

Chadchart added that the demolition of the Samsen police station building would continue gradually, as the building was still subsiding.

He mentioned that the hospital had coordinated with both the police and the contractor to increase the frequency of shuttle buses transporting patients to and from the hospital.

Chadchart also noted that it was fortunate that schools were on mid-year break, so traffic in the area was not significantly impacted.

He admitted that repairing and refilling the sinkhole had proven to be more challenging than initially expected, as the conditions of the ground layers were not accurately estimated.