Originally Posted by
taxexile
driving south out of bangkok along that road for the past few years has been a nightmare.
this massive and spectacular elevated road and bridge construction project continues for about 40 miles day and night whilst 3 or 4 lanes of traffic each side hurtles by alongside and underneath it, as workers balance precariously 60 feet above the road and huge steel and concrete sections of road overhanging the highway are raised, positioned and fixed in place onto the supporting pillars
concrete is mixed and poured into the pillars and gigantic metal structures, hundreds of feet long, like the one that has collapsed, dangle over the project, whilst dust, debris, water bottles and hard hats rain down on the road below, and all the while traffic proceeds as normal in thailand, i.e. bumper to bumper at as high a speed as possible, with overloaded pickup trucks and madmen in mercs cutting in and taking advantage of any gaps in the traffic open up.
the highway itself has been badly damaged by all the heavy construction vehicles and there are potholes and loose asphalt sections everywhere, especially on the outer lanes.
two or three times in the past huge concrete sections of the elevated roadway have collapsed on the traffic below killing both workers and drivers, but calls for improved safety seem to be ignored.
this accident seems to be the most serious, but as only workers, and foreign workers at that, have been killed, i doubt if anything will change.
as usual funerals will be held, paid for by the companies involved, wais will be given, paltry compensation will be paid and more workers will be hired to replace the dead ones.
the engineering involved in this project is nothing short of miraculous, but safety seems to have been forgotten.