Lanes shut in Chatuchak

Two inbound lanes of the crowded Phahon Yothin Road in front of TMB Bank headquarters in the Chatuchak area have been closed to lay the foundations for the construction of the Green Line elevated rail route extension.

The work on this section of the road is scheduled to last four months during which motorists will experience a bottleneck, but this “will not seriously affect traffic flow”, police chief Pol Lt Gen Wittaya Prayongpan said yesterday.

Officers are preparing a new traffic order to cope with the situation. During rush hour, from 6am to 10am, he said, one or two contraflow lanes toward Vibhavadi Rangsit Road will be opened for cars heading toward Victory Monument.

Part of the traffic island will also be used as a traffic lane, Pol Lt Gen Wittaya said.

Constructors have since last week begun laying the foundations near Central Lardprao shopping complex, causing police to adjust traffic orders to relieve congestion.

Deputy city police chief Pol Maj Gen Chiraphat Phumichit expects some motorists will avoid this part of Phahon Yothin and turn into nearby Kamphaeng Phet Road, so authorities need to temporarily have vehicles run on bike lanes.

The work on the foundations is scheduled to end by May.

Other parts of Phahon Yothin Road have also seen traffic flow become slower due to construction work to remove a flyover on the Ratchayothin intersection.