City officials are hard at work fixing a road when it collapsed and became unusable by commuters.
Ratchaprarop road was closed for commuters early Tuesday morning, after the section towards Makkasan-Chaturathit Road intersection collapsed into a sinkhole on Monday evening.
Officials have temporarily filled up the sinkhole and have advised commuters to avoid the intersection as they wait for the concrete to dry.
As of 11am, officials have blocked off most of the road, opening one lane for cars to pass through. Repairs are expected to resume at 8pm tonight where the intersection will be fully closed off.
Video footage shows that the weight of a large truck seemingly caused the collapse as it passed the road yesterday evening at around 6pm. An SUV that was trailing the truck then fell into the resulting sinkhole.
Supamit Laithong, Director of the Drainage System Division, Office of Drainage and Sewerage, revealed that throughout yesterday evening, officials have been repairing the road surface to make it usable. They temporarily placed concrete slabs, which are rectangular pieces approximately 50-70 centimeters thick, 1 meter wide, and about 6 meters long, to cover the hole. Then, they poured concrete, 10 centimeters thick, to level the road surface.
Officials recommend that drivers coming from Ratchadamri Road redirect to Chaturathit Road, avoiding the Ratchaprarop intersection. They can take the Asoke-Din Daeng Road or use the Phetchaburi Road as an alternative as the concrete continues to dry Tuesday morning.
After the incident, officials from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s workshop division deployed equipment to lift the SUV from the accident site.
A motorcyclist at the Ratchaprarop intersection, who witnessed the incident, said that before the road surface collapsed, a heavy-loaded soil truck passed through the road.
As soon as the rear wheels passed through, the road surface collapsed and a hole expanded immediately, coinciding with the moment when the following car approached the area.
Bangkok governor Chatchart Sittipunt soon arrived at the scene of the incident to direct an official investigation. He also consoled the victims.
The victims have reported the incident to the Din Daeng Police Station.
Furthermore, the police are currently tracking down the truck shown in the CCTV footage in their bid to determine if the heavy vehicle had entered the city outside of permitted hours. Police are also collecting witness evidence, identifying the driver of the truck, and summoning the contractor for additional statements.
