Flood-prone roads to get underground pipes soon

Flood-prone roads to get underground pipes soon

City Hall is install new underground pipes to ease floods on some roads in Bangkok.
City Hall is install new underground pipes to ease floods on some roads in Bangkok.

The installation of new underground pipes on three roads prone to floods -- Yaowarat, Charoen Krung and Song Sawat -- is set to be complete next month. Once installed, the pipes will help the city better deal with flooding resulting from the overflow of small sewers.

"Installation is already 93% complete," said deputy Bangkok governor Chakkaphan Phewngam after he inspected a 435-metre section of road where the pipes have been laid using the pipe jacking technique.

The three roads, which connect areas near the Chao Phraya River and Chinatown, are among 14 flood prevention projects which will add new, larger stormwater culverts in the capital.

The city was originally equipped with a network of small sewers which could drain rainwater at no more than 60 millimetres an hour.

Officials are adopting the jacking technique for all the projects as "this will cause the least impact to pedestrians and motorists", Mr Chakkaphan said.

In this pipe installation process, hydraulic jacks will be used to push pipes through the ground.

The technique does not require to workers to excavate a wide area on a road and is considered suitable for densely populated areas where efforts to improve or change sewers are blocked by other pipes installed to carry water, electricity and telecommunication lines.

Besides the new flood pipes which are 1.8 metres in diameter, City Hall is also building a water pump facility at Song Sawat pier to speed up drainage from the three roads, Mr Chakkaphan said.

The facility is designed to drain water at 4.50 cubic metres per second.

The city's Drainage and Sewerage Department also plans to install two water pumps and lay pipes up to a distance of 560 metres along the three roads.

Another pipe installation among the 14 projects is located at Narathiwat Ratchanakharin Soi 17 and Suan Phlu Road. It is scheduled for completion this year, Mr Chakkaphan said.

The two roads are connected with Sathon Road, which is one of Bangkok's busiest districts.

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