PATTAYA: The first tunnel has officially opened in this beach resort city to help alleviate traffic jams in the Pattaya Klang area.
The four-lane tunnel runs for 420 metres beneath the Pattaya Klang intersection. With an overall length of 1.9 kilometres, the project took three years to build and cost 840 million baht.
A large number of vehicles were waiting to use the tunnel at 10pm Friday.
The opening had been delayed for a few months because of red tape that tied up the transfer of the project from Department of Rural Roads, which paid for the work, to the Pattaya city administration.
For the first three months, traffic officers will be stationed at the site around the clock to help drivers get accustomed to using the tunnel.