Patong Hill closed to traffic today

PHUKET: The road over Patong Hill, the only direct route from Phuket Town to Patong, will be closed today (Tuesday) from 9am to midday.

The road closure is to allow electrical workers to cut down trees interfering with power lines, Surasak Jantharuek of Patong Municipality’s Engineering Division told the Phuket Gazette.

“We need to cut down branches and reset power poles along the curved section leading up to the ‘Patong City’ sign on the hill,” Mr Surasak explained.

Phra Baramee Road will be closed from the Patong Go-Kart Speedway in Kathu to the bottom of the hill on the Patong side.

Any motorists needing to travel between Patong and Phuket City will need to take either the northern route through Kamala and Cherng Talay or the southern route through Karon and Chalong, he said.

The work will be conducted in conjunction with the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority Office, he added.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but this work is critical to ensure that power lines and old trees do not fall down onto the road,” Mr Surasak said.

“Patong Municipality has been using sound trucks to warn people in Patong of this for many days now,” he added.

— Atchaa Khamlo