Progress wins again.

gotlost

gotlost

Kap Chong R Us Member
The 214 highway is being widen to 4 lanes for about 10 km towards Kap Choeng. This is being done in the name of progress and at the expense of nature.:weary::mad:

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:weary::mad:
 
Albeit I only travel down the Prasat - Kap Cheong section of the 214 four or five times per year, I have never encountered traffic which, in my opinion, warrants it being widened at this point in time.
 
Yorky said:
Albeit I only travel down the Prasat - Kap Cheong section of the 214 four or five times per year, I have never encountered traffic which, in my opinion, warrants it being widened at this point in time.
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I agree with you. 2 years back before a certain coup the economy was busting lose all the way to the crossing but Article 44 took care of that.:rolleyes:
 
Having passed through that crossroads last Wednesday in around 10 seconds flat including the minor U-turn, and noticed the 4-lane works, I too wondered what was the point of spending millions on a road used by so few of late. They must have decided that every other national problem has been solved to warrant such a waste.
 
At least they are using accepted construction techniques. They did it last year (?) at the Surin ring road/214 crossroads and now at the 214/24 crossroads by laying concrete pavement at the approaches to the traffic lights, thereby precluding the blacktop degradation caused by the heavy trucks turning/braking in the heat of the wet season.

One only has to hope that the sub-base is fit for purpose.
 
Merlin said:
Having passed through that crossroads last Wednesday in around 10 seconds flat including the minor U-turn, and noticed the 4-lane works, I too wondered what was the point of spending millions on a road used by so few of late. They must have decided that every other national problem has been solved to warrant such a waste.
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You guys think the Thais are so dumb, well in some respects I agree. But think about this. Road building is building the economy.
The roads are paved with bitumen derived from oil. What is the world price of oil doing. It is at a historic low. They are making hay while the sun shines.
Not so stupid now, don't you think.
 
No offence, but any nation building an unnecessary and expensive improvement to that under-used road would seem misguided, whatever the price of crude oil. The only way it could build the economy rather than depleting it would be if it was going to make a significant difference to the carriage of international traffic. Does any sane individual honestly believe that is going to be the result of this particular road-widening? All the wild speculation about ASEAN helped drive up the price of land and property in Surin beyond all reason. Now look at all the empty business premises, new and old, and the empty homes above so many of them. Consider the over-stretched budgets of those who speculated, those who believed the hype, who opened new businesses including restaurants and bars only to see them fail within a year - and sometimes within a few weeks. Vast amounts are still scheduled to be spent on new government buildings and a railway station. Are there ANY signs that any of them will help bring the false hopes to some fruition? I would suggest that if a fraction of the expenditure on them was directed into REAL education for the next generation, and making efficiencies in the way the country is run, then it would bring far greater and longer-lasting economic benefits to Thai people and those of us who have chosen to live among them. Real white elephants have Royal connotations in Thai culture, but this particular version is neither use nor ornament - to the economy or the ecology of the area - and I would say the same irrespective of the nationality of the people behind it. Read my old posts - I seldom if ever knock the Thai people, and have never thought them dumb, any more than I consider all UK folk to be dumb.

I take your point regarding the current price of oil, but what percentage of the cost of the road works , I wonder, does the likely increase in crude prices represent over the projected lifetime of the surface before it will need to be replaced due to weather conditions?
 
They are resurfacing the new road from my home to Prakhonchai already!! Road building in Thailand is a very good business, like the old dock workers a job for life!!!!
 
If you thank that the widening of 214 to 4 lanes from Prasat to the crossing is a waste I suggest that you take a trip up the 214 north of Surin and see whats going on this project goes all the way to Roi ET and past to Bueng Kan on the Mekong where another friendship bridge is planed. This project was announced about 12 months back to increase commerce for ASEAN.
 
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