City confirms new tunnel to open August 25

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Pattaya – Pattaya officials have confirmed that the long-awaited new tunnel section at the Sukhumvit Road/Pattaya Klang intersection will be opened on August 25.

City spokesperson Pol. Maj. Gen. Pinit Maneerath and Suntorn Sompramai, director of Pattaya’s civil engineering division, presided over a meeting Wednesday, August 2 to announce the official opening date.

The 840 million baht project has taken over three years to complete, with anxious residents and motorists often wondering if it would ever be finished.  Now, after rigorous testing and design changes the tunnel has finally been signed off.

Gen. Pinit revealed that city officials had been chasing up the project ever since the first delay was experienced, but contractors did not want to submit the project to the Highway Dept. until everything was fully functional.

One caveat is that the city is still looking to hire personnel to operate the tunnel, but Gen. Pinit said this would not affect the opening date and a request has already been made for a team from the Department of Rural Roads to stand in.