Phuket’s Patong Tunnel to be complete by 2027

Petch PetpailinWednesday, January 19, 2022Last Updated: Thursday, May 12, 2022

863 1 minute read

Phuket’s Patong Tunnel to be complete by 2027

Prime Minister's Delivery Unit (PMDU)

The Patong Tunnel will drill under the infamous hill that just about every tourist has to go over at some stage to get to Patong Beach. The windy road, up and down the hill, has been the scene of hundreds of fatal incidents with motorcycles, cars, trucks, vans and fully-loaded tour buses using the same patch of dangerous road.

Efforts to establish a tunnel under the steep hill have been under discussion for more than 2 decades with countless false starts, environmental assessments, artist renderings and committees formed – all to end, so far.

But, after all the delays, Thailand’s cabinet has now approved the 14.7 billion baht budget to construct the expressway connecting the Kathu district with Patong Beach. This tunnel is expected to help decrease car accidents, offer a quicker and safer route for locals and tourists who want to visit Patong Beach, and support the province as an emergency evacuation when a disaster, like a tsunami, happens.

The 3.98 kilometre expressway, including the 1.85 kilometre tunnel, will have four traffic lanes with one designated for motorbikes. The Expressway Authority of Thailand expected that the project will start in 2023 and finish around July of 2027.

The patch of road has become famous for its endless series of ‘brake failures’ when drivers used the same excuse over and over again for the thousands of incidents each year. Whilst the latest news of a cabinet approval will be met with a lot of local enthusiasm, the project has had many missteps along the project’s tortured journey which spans more than 20 years.

HERE’S one story about the project’s approval back in 2011.

And ANOTHER one from 2009.

Phuket's highway to Patong Beach

Highway to Patong Beach

SOURCE: Khaosod | Bangkokbiznews

Petch Petpailin

Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger who focuses on translating breakingThai news stories into English. With a background in field journalism, Petch brings several years of experience to the English News desk at The Thaiger. Before joining The Thaiger, Petch worked as a content writer for several known blogging sites in Bangkok, including Happio and The Smart Local. Her articles have been syndicated by many big publishers in Thailand and internationally, including the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Bangkok Post. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp! But during office hours, you can find Petch on LinkedIn and you can reach her by email at petch@thethaiger.com.