PHUKET: The landslide-damaged Patong hill road has been reopened to small vehicles for one-way traffic from Patong beach to Kathu district.
Provincial governor Narong Woonciew on Friday ordered the reopening of the closed section of Road 4029 from Patong to Kathu district to small four-wheel vehicles, including vans, after engineers confirmed its safety.
The opposite direction, from Kathu to Patong, remains closed to all vehicles except motorcycles, he said.
Road 4029 is the main connection between Phuket town and the province's most famous beach area, via Kathu. It serves 80,000 vehicles a day normally and the number reaches 100,000 during the high tourist season.
The province ordered the road closed on Oct 16 after the hill section was damaged by a landslide that undermined its foundation.
It was later reopened to pedestrian traffic, and then for motorcycles.
Motorists arriving in Patong on the reopened one-way section from Kathu have two alternative routes they return on.