Police have blocked the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand’s plans to close and tear down the flyover at the Kasetsart University intersection to make way for construction of the Green Line rail extension.
Assistant national police chief Prawut Thawornsiri told Jor Sor 100 FM traffic radio that the closure of the bridge was not approved because the MRTA had yet to submit details of its construction plan, which will take several years. The MRTA also has not said how it planned to close and arrange traffic in the affected area.
Once the plan is submitted, police would consider it carefully, Pol Lt Gen Prawut said.
MRTA executives planned to meet with Pol Lt Gen Prawut on Tuesday to discuss the issue, according to Jor Sor 100.
On Saturday, the MRTA advised motorists and commuters to avoid Phahon Yothin Road when workers begin the demolition of the Kasetsart flyover Saturday at 10pm as work proceeds on the Green Line's Mor Chit-Khu Khot section.
The Kasetsart flyover is 1.5 kilometre-long, running from Phahon Yothin Soi 35 to the Department of Agricultural Extension. The section's ground-level road will have two inbound lanes and two outbound lanes left for traffic after construction begins, according to the MRTA.
The 19-kilometre-long elevated rail route will have 16 stations and is expected to open for service by 2020.