The Transport Ministry is insisting on pressing ahead with reopening the flood-hit Highway 340 to provide a detour to the South though many say it should focus on saving Rama II Road.
Transport Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat said the opening of Highway 340's Bang Bua Thong to Suphan Buri route and a section of Kanchanaphisek Road was due to be completed tomorrow. The work is now 80% complete.
The government hopes to reopen the highway as an alternative route to the South in the event that the key route, Rama II Road, becomes impassable.
ACM Sukumpol insisted the salvage operation would have very little effect on nearby communities as only inundated sections, not the entire highway, were being drained.
National police chief Priewpan Damapong on Sunday urged the Transport Ministry to focus on protecting Rama II Road as the operation to reopen Highway 340 looks impossible.
Democrat MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat Thepthai Senpong yesterday said trying to salvage the flooded section of Highway 340 was a waste of money.
Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday said the government must come up with a clear policy on how to solve the problem if Rama II Road is forced to close.
But a source at the Transport Ministry said building a floodwall along Rama II Road would only add to the suffering of residents in flooded communities along the road.
Hundreds of residents in Bang Khunthian district yesterday morning blocked Rama II Road in protest after the floodwater rose to nearly a metre deep in their communities in sois 88 and 92.
They called for the district office to quickly drain the water into canals. The residents ended their protest after the BMA agreed to their demand for more pumps to drive water from the area.
Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday led senior military officers to inspect the flooding at Soi 69 on Rama II Road. He urged all sides to stop pointing the finger of blame at one another for the flood crisis.
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