Toll fees will be waived for vehicles on two motorways, Highway 9 Bang Pa In–Bang Phli and Highway 7 Bangkok–Chon Buri, during the Songkran festival to reduce traffic congestion during the annual exodus to the provinces.
Cars crawl along heavily congested Mittraphap Road in Saraburi’s Kaeng Khoi district on Dec 30, 2012. The road is the gateway to northeastern provinces where millions of Bangkok's workforce return to for Songkran. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)
Highways Department director-general Chatchawal Buncharoenkit said on Thursday the toll will be waived from 4pm on April 10 to midnight on April 16 on both highways, known generally as the motorways leading to provinces in the East and to the popular tourist destination of Pattaya in Chon Buri.
Songkran Day is on April 13 but this year the civil servants' holiday is from April 12-16, with the private sector mostly giving employees a holiday from April 13-17.
Mr Chatchawal said the department will help travellers with road signs suggesting alternative routes and also distribute leaflets recommending possible routes nationwide. Service centres will be set up on main roads to all parts of the country from April 11-12 on outbound roads from Bangkok and on April 16 on inbound routes.
From April 13-15, the department would focus on traffic law enforcement, particularly on speed limits and drunk driving.
He suggested motorists check with the department's call centre, 1586, at least one hour before begining their journey to learn about traffic conditions. The department had installed closed circuit surveillance cameras at critical traffic points to monitor the flow and better serve the public, said Mr Chatchawal.
The Expressway Authority of Thailand said it will ask the cabinet to approve the waiving of the toll fee on the Burapawithi expressway (Bangkok – Bang Na) from 12.01am on April 10 until midnight on April 16 to improve the traffic flow during the Songkran festival.