Soi 10 is in dire need of
repair.
Manoon Makpol
Pattaya officials approved an emergency 1 million
baht budget to rebuild Soi 10 September 7, damaged by floods even before
the major flooding Sept. 11.
Business owners on the soi linking Beach and Second
Roads, flabbergasted by two decades of neglect, met with city
Construction Department workers Sept. 7 to review plans to rebuild the
soi where many companies have closed due to chronic flooding and the
inability of customers to reach their stores and bars.
Four days later, even more damage was inflicted when
record floods hit the entire city.
Plans call for workers to close one lane of the soi
at a time until 1,227 meters of new roadway and foundation is laid. The
work is expected to continue throughout the rainy season, wrapping in
November. New drainage pipes will carry wastewater to a Walking Street
pipeline that is supposed to connect to the city’s water-treatment plant
on Soi Buakaow.
Business owners and residents allegedly have been
trying to get the city to fix their street for about 20 years. Work was
finally supposed to start last November, but officials postponed again
at the request of area hotels that didn’t want the street torn up until
after April 15. Bureaucrats did not explain why work didn’t start for
another five months after that.
