Highways Department assures public of safety following concrete spill on Rama II highway
The Highways Department confirmed the Rama II elevated motorway is structurally safe after wet concrete spilled onto the road due to human error during casting.
The Highways Department has assured the public that the structure of the elevated motorway being built over Rama II highway remains safe, saying the concrete spillage was due to human error rather than structural instability.
In a statement issued on Monday, the department explained that wet concrete overflowed from its mould and fell onto one lane of the inbound Rama II highway at around 1.55am. The incident caused the concrete to harden and block traffic near kilometre marker 29+600, in front of Thale Thai Market.
The spillage occurred during the construction of the Ekkachai–Ban Praew section of the M82 motorway, which is being built by the UN-ASI joint venture.
According to the department, the wet concrete overflowed from a mould being used to cast a lower cross beam at the site. It spilled from the side of the mould onto a protective canvas designed to catch falling materials, but continued to leak onto the road below.
The department said that workers from the contractor and officials from the Samut Sakhon Highway Office were immediately deployed to clear the debris. The clean-up took about 30 minutes, after which traffic on the affected lane was reopened.
No injuries or property damage were reported.
The department apologised for the inconvenience and emphasised that the incident was caused by an error in the work process, not by subsidence or vibration of the elevated structure, as speculated on social media.
It added that the contractor has been instructed to exercise greater caution to prevent similar incidents in future.
