Following yesterday’s raging fire, the Thai-Belgian Friendship Bridge on Rama IV Road will remain closed for safety for a minimum of 30 days — but possibly as many as 45 days.
Workers will test the flyover and repair the structure where it has been weakened from the blaze, which started in garbage bins stored under it.
The director of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Construction and Maintenance Office, Thiti Songcharoenkij, announced that the initial testing of the bridge determined that the steel beams that support the bridge had been damaged on the outbound lane side but were in better shape on the inbound side.
He believes that the structural repairs will take at least a month.
Bangkok deputy governor Jakraphan Phiewngam thought the work would take closer to a month-and-a-half.
Expect traffic to be greatly delayed in this area for the next month. To assist with the traffic flow, police have changed the light pattern at the Witthayu-Sathorn intersection, reported Bangkok Post.
It’s believed that the fire may have been started by a motorist or passerby tossing a burning cigarette into the garbage bins beneath the bridge. CCTV footage will be reviewed to see if this theory is true.
The bridge has been in operation since 1988, and Belgium donated many of the resources needed to build it, including the design plan, construction management, and over 2,000 tons of steel which were shipped from Antwerp to create the 290-meter bridge.
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