The Chalong Underpass

 A Major Worksite finally comes to an end


Aerial photo of the "Chalong Roundabout" as we knew it before...
Traffic has increased so much that this place has become a real headache.

 Some pictures of this impressive project...

The Chalong roundabout.... "Before"
The beginning of this huge project.... four years ago!

What a joy to enter or leave Rawai now....



During this whole period of tunnel construction, we have suffered well. It was necessary to be patient, to find the best times of the day (when possible), to cross this place that had become unbearable. 

Already during the day at any time of the day it was not easy, but after 4pm, leaving Rawai had become a real ordeal, more than a fighting course, and this, daily until after 8pm...

Thousands of cars, trucks, buses full of tourists lined up to try to get out of Rawai, scooters by the hundreds were sneaking between the vehicles... the waiting line sometimes reached 2 km (from the traffic lights, on the Rawai side)

How many times have I asked myself the question.... "what to do in case of a serious problem..." how to get to a hospital quickly if necessary: heart attack, stroke, snake bite, traffic accident...

Many of these cases require a quick intervention: 20 to 30 minutes... out to get past this damn roundabout, during this whole period, it took 40 to 50 minutes if not more... not to mention adding the travel time of the ambulances to come to you... so much to say that in these specific cases, your chances of getting out were pretty slim... how many times have I asked myself this question when I got stuck on this road.

This constant concern during these four years (whether for me, my family or my friends) is now stored in the memory cupboard and I can say that in recent days we have been breathing much more freely... 
I don't think I'm the only one who thinks that way.

We must admit that this tunnel, which caused us so much trouble during these long and endless months, had become truly indispensable, necessary and inevitable...

Of course, some have not been shy to criticize the slowness and moreover we will never prevent criticism... I can well imagine that such a site could experience a mountain of difficulties: acquisition of plots of land, modifications to power lines, telephone lines, Internet, etc... all this surrounding infrastructure of which we probably have no idea of the extent, but which is part of the current problems on this type of construction. 

In any case, this 350-metre long structure is magnificent, well done, but above all... so useful!
For a few days I have never entered (or left) Rawai so easily... what a joy! 

It was about time.... Let's forget the annoyances, the stress, the time wasted: all this is now forgotten and put away permanently.


 First Presentation Video