Construction on the collapsed On Nut-Lat Krabang elevated road is expected to resume in March, with the plan now under revision, said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's (BMA) Public Works Department.
It has been five months since the collapse of this elevated road that was still under construction on Luang Phaeng Road in Lat Krabang district on July 10, last year.
During a regular Monday evening, with no particular spike in traffic, a 600-metre section of the project -- stretching from Lotus's Lat Krabang branch to Jorakay Noi police station -- collapsed and killed two people, an engineer and a construction worker, while also injuring 13 others.
The accident caused damage to vehicles, electricity poles and even some nearby buildings, prompting authorities to halt construction indefinitely.
The Public Works Department is working with the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) and Srinakharinwirot University (SWU), Prasarnmit campus, to investigate the cause.
Thawatchai Somboon, the department's deputy director, said the assessment team is waiting for the results.
"We will let the EIT and SWU continue with their jobs, as we want to ensure the safety of the bridge users after the work is finished," said Mr Thawatchai.
Mr Thawatchai said the department will put forward a construction plan designed to prevent a repeat of such accidents.
The department is negotiating with the contractor on increasing safety equipment on site, such as installing precast segment structures, as well as better traffic management.
"The project is expected to resume in March and will be finished early next year,'' Mr Thawatchai said.
The On Nut-Lat Krabang elevated road is a four-lane overpass spanning 3.36 kilometres in length, and it was estimated to be 20% complete at the time of the collapse.
The road connected Soi Lat Krabang 11, before the intersection with Suvarnabhumi Airport, to the Suvarnabhumi Waterworks Office, and passed King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and Lat Krabang District Office.
The Public Works Department signed a contract with a joint consortium of two companies, Tharawan Construction and Npa Construction, for the On Nut-Lat Krabang elevated road project on Feb 22, 2021, with a 1.66-billion-baht budget. The contract was supposed to end in August 2023; however, following the pandemic, work was extended to December this year.