Christmas present to Phuket motorists: Patong Hill road to reopen

Good news for motorists in Phuket, Patong Hill road is expected to fully reopen to all traffic on Christmas Day.

The road between Kathu and Patong was closed after it was hit by a landslide during a deluge of heavy rain in October. The road is only partially open at the moment but the Mayor of Kathu, Chai-anan Sutthikul, reported today that repairs to the road were almost finished, said Bangkok Post.

“The road’s foundation has been filled and strengthened and repair work is almost done.

“When completed, the road’s width will be increased by 7 metres in that section, making it safer, stronger and more durable.”

The mayor revealed he expected the 21 million baht project to be finished before December 24 and within the 45-day timeframe set in the contract.

“If there is no rain, the work could even be finished on December 20.”

The Provincial Electricity Authority’s Phuket office announced it will install new power poles and CCTV to monitor the repaired section of the road.

A survey on November 7 revealed that about 70,000 round trips were made on the hill road each day, about 35,000 each way.

A landslide caused the Kathu-Patong Road to close on October 19 causing chaos to motorists and travellers trying to reach Phuket Airport. Road workers were able to clean up and stabilise the roadway to allow motorbikes to pass in both directions over Patong Hill a week later on October 26.

Then on November 4, small cars were permitted to travel over Patong Hill before the road was fully reopened to vans and pickup trucks with restrictions.

The mayor said the two alternative routes to Patong beach – Go-kart in Kathu district to Chao Phor Sue shrine in Patong, and Wat Bang Thong in Kathu to Chao Phor Sue shrine – were not far from Patong but the roads were rather steep and were best used in times of emergency.

Chai-anan added that he is still in talks with the provincial electricity office about installing lighting along the two routes.