Bangkok postpones plan to close major road

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has postponed plans to close the elevated road on Rama IX from Dec 2 this year until further notice.
According to the BMA, the Department of Public Works on Friday issued a statement regarding a public request to revise the traffic closure plan during the renovation of the elevated road spanning the Rama IX Intersection, the Mcot Intersection and the Urban Planning Intersection in Din Daeng and Huai Khwang districts.
The statement said the BMA is working on a renovation project for the road.
It cited an earlier meeting with the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) on Nov 14 regarding traffic management, which was resolved in a plan to suspend and divert traffic in the area, as the elevated road would be closed completely, starting from next Monday until Dec 4, next year.
However, the department recently took a second look at the plan and agreed that closing roads to traffic in the area, both at road level and elevated section, would cause extensive traffic congestion in the city, especially with another nearby traffic diversion plan in place due to the construction of the MRT Orange Line.
The department is therefore reviewing the plan in order to come up with a better solution and has postponed the elevated road closure until further notice.