Sinkhole forces Phuket villagers to take prison detour

PHUKET: Motorists willing to try their luck crossing a section of road in Srisoonthorn, in central Phuket, that was heavily compromised by a sinkhole earlier this week (story here) have had that option removed.

Heavy rains over the past few days have washed away the entire section of road on Rural Road 4008 off Thepkrasattri Road, near Bang Jo Prison.

The truncated road has forced villagers Supaporn Charoenrak, 46, and Pairin Inthachai, 49, to drive through the nearby detention facility in order to access their homes.

“But we can only cut through there during government hours, from about 7am to 5:30pm,” Ms Supaporn told the Phuket Gazette.

“Outside of those hours, we have to take a detour several kilometers long just to reach the other side of the hole.”

Mr Pairin confirmed that Srisoonthorn Municipality have ‘closed’ the road, but have yet to start any repairs.

“The road has been left dangerous as it is. The hole is about about eight meters long and two meters deep,” he said.

“They said they would fix it as soon as possible, but when that would be, they said they didn’t know. They said they had yet to obtain the budget to fix the road.”

“We need help,” Ms Supaporn concurred.

With the Srisoonthorn Municipality office closed today, the Gazette has yet to obtain an official response from them.

— Thawit Bilabdullar