Gov sets Dec 26 deadline for bypass road

PHUKET: In a meeting this morning to check on final preparations for the upcoming tsunami memorial services, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura ordered that work on the bypass road widening project be completed before December 26.

“Work on the bypass road must be finished before December 26 so we can provide comfortable transport for our visitors,” Gov Udomsak told those at the meeting at The Metropole hotel.

Many foreign dignitaries and Thai government officials are expected to attend memorial services at Patong, Kamala and Mai Khao beaches.

Following heavy rains in recent weeks, unpaved sections of the bypass road have become full of potholes. Many motorists go to great lengths to avoid the road, especially in areas like the Samkong and Darasamut School junctions, to avoid traffic congestion and to keep their vehicles from becoming covered in mud.

Phuket Highway Department Engineer Boonyakiat Kongketyai is charged with carrying out the near-impossible order.

“The road might not be 100% complete by December 26 because there are many details that need to be finished, such as painting lines, erecting signs and doing clean-up work,” he admitted.

He said his department would try and have a temporary road surface in place by December 26.

Work on the project will be 100% complete by the end of March, he added.

Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) Region 4 Office, told the Gazette that work on the Patong Beach Renovation Project would be 75% complete by December 26.