Free drive on Bangkok expressways this Saturday

The Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT) announces toll-free passage along three key Bangkok expressways on Saturday.

This Saturday, February 24 marks the Buddhist holiday, Makha Bucha Day. It is observed on the full moon of the third lunar month in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar (on the full moon of Tabaung), ranks second only to Vesak in importance. It commemorates a historic assembly between Buddha and his initial 1,250 disciples, believed to have established the practice of monks’ periodic discipline recitation. The festival is also known as Buddhist All Saints Day.

From the stroke of midnight until the clock strikes 12, motorists can drive seamlessly through the Chalerm Mahanakhon, Srirat, and Udon Ratthaya expressways. This generous reprieve, comprising 19 gates, 31 gates, and 10 gates respectively, aligns with the Transport Ministry’s initiative to ease the capital’s congestion on national holidays.

Originally opened in 1981, the expressway system, as of 2015, comprises seven expressways and four expressway links, spanning a total distance of 207.9 kilometres, a figure that has remained unchanged since 2012. In 2013, this network facilitated the passage of 594 million cars.

In related news, the Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT) is set to launch four expressway projects amounting to approximately 120 billion baht. The projects, once approved and operational, are anticipated to stimulate economic growth and create job opportunities across the nation.

Surachet Laophulsuk, the head of EXAT, revealed that the four proposals are ready for submission to the Cabinet for approval. Following the Cabinet’s consent, the projects will be open to bids for construction.

In other news, a homeless veteran was found dead under the Sri Rat Expressway in Nonthaburi, with a fractured skull, sparking a police investigation to capture the assailant.

In a sombre discovery beneath the Sri Rat Expressway in Nonthaburi province, authorities found the lifeless body of a homeless veteran with severe injuries to his head. The incident, which occurred under the shadow of the bustling expressway in the early hours of Monday, February 19, has become the centre of an intense police investigation.