Nearly 1,000 locals protest over fatal road in central Thailand

About 1,000 residents gathered on the Pluak Daeng-Bor Win Road in the central province of Rayong to protest against a five-year unfinished road project that has been the scene of ten fatal accidents.

Last Sunday, a local representative, Chairat Ngentuam, invited residents affected by the incomplete Pluak Daeng-Bor Win Road to protest in the project area.

Residents turned out in force, many of them holding banners, including “3 deaths sacrificed to recklessness,” “Road to destroyed lungs,” “Never finish the road,” and “We lost our shops” among others.

According to media reports, the project aimed to extend the 16.46-kilometer-long road from two lanes to four lanes.

Chaiwat made known that the project kicked off on September 4, 2017, and was expected to finish on December 10 of this year. He says the project has three months left to completion but only 50% of it is completed.

Chaiwat reported that Pluak Daeng-Bor Win Road is the main road leading to the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate of the province, where locals work, and the project is and has caused huge traffic problems in the area. Many shops and restaurants located along the road have had to close because of the inconvenience.

“It’s a disaster for the residents!”

Chaiwat said the road was processed through the Rural Road Department and that the outfit running the project, Pracha Pattana Company, should be sacked and another construction company should be found to finish it.

Suriyan Saepueng, a 42 year old man who joined the protest, said…

“The construction had no safety at all. About 10 people died from accidents on the road. The locals also suffered from dust.”

Yesterday, the Director of the Road Construction Bureau of the Rural Road Department, Yongyut Paeengmueng, explained that the project has been delayed because the old public utility water pipes and electrical poles, which have obstructed the construction work. Yongyut said the company just finished fixing the problems in October last year.

Yongyut added that Covid-19 was another reason for the delay. The construction company couldn’t find workers and budgets to continue the project.

Yongyut reported that the department had suspended the company from doing other projects until they completed the road. He added that the company would update the status of the project and the schedule when they would finish the road on Thursday, August 18.

If the project couldn’t be processed according to the plan they propose, the Rural Road Department would find a new company to continue the construction

SOURCE: Khaosod