Kasetsart University chiefs have urged the government to kill moves for an expressway to follow the planned Brown Line monorail route from Kae Rai to Lam Sali.
"We support the Brown Line's construction because it will bring real benefits. The monorail will decrease traffic congestion and lead to better air quality," the university's acting president Chongrak Wachrinrat told reporters Wednesday.
"But the planned expressway project will have a profound environmental impact on residents and students alike, since it would undoubtedly bring more vehicles into central Bangkok, worsening the pollution problem," he said.
He was responding to plans revealed at a public hearing on Monday, organised by the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP).
At first the public and university were happy the monorail would pass the university until they learned about the construction of an expressway running parallel with the rail line.
The OTP revealed on Monday the accompanying expressway was set to be built before the monorail.
The university finds the expressway "unnecessary," Mr Chongrak said.
"The planned expressway extensions are bound to cause profound environmental impacts on residents and students alike, since they will undoubtedly bring more vehicles into central Bangkok."
Damrong Sriparam, the university's acting vice-president for central management, said the move would worsen the already poor air quality in Bangkok.
"At present, we are faced with high amounts of small particulate dust in the air we breathe daily," Mr Damrong said.
"The expressways will cause no harm for commuters, but smog and dust particles from vehicles will fall on residents, university students and staff. More pollution and worse air quality is inevitable for our university," he added.
Air pollution is not just a discomfort, he said. Families in Bangkok need to spend about 6,000 baht per year on healthcare related to effects caused by air pollution, Mr Damrong said, citing a university study.
Kasetsart University, he said, would try to provide compelling reasons as to why the expressway construction should be dropped. Experts at the university will present environmental impact assessments at the next public hearing into the project scheduled for March or April, he added.
According to the OTP, the expressway will cost 25 billion with construction divided into two sections.
The first is a 12km section running from Kasetsart intersection to Nawamin Road. The second phase is a 7km stretch from Khlong Bang Bua to Khlong Bang Khen, parallel to the Don Muang tollway.
According to the OTP, the expressway will loop around Kasetsart campus.
OTP chief Chaiwat Thongkamkoon said the expressway study was requested by the government to make use of abandoned pillars along Prasert Manoonkij Road that were part of an abandoned project from 1994 and are still sitting there today.