Sak Ngaew residents voice
their opposition to the proposed extension of Highway 7 that would cut their
village in half.
Phasakorn Channgam
Residents of Banglamung’s Sak Ngaew neighborhood are
opposing a planned extension of Highway 7 that cuts their village in half,
placing most of its 100 homes under the elevated roadway.
At an Aug. 10 public hearing at Pattaya’s Discovery Beach
Hotel, neighborhood spokesman Sompong Kanjanaprapat said that unless changes
are made to the proposed route, the villagers will sue to block its
construction.
“The highway will greatly affect Sak Ngaew, as it cuts
right through the middle of the neighborhood, the market and Ban Sak Ngaew
clinic,” Sompong said. “When we first opposed to plan, the Department of
Highways claimed to solve the problem by building the roadway over the
neighborhood. But the department doesn’t realize the suffering that will be
caused by noise and pollution, as well the mental impact of having to live
under a bridge.”
The Bangkok-Chonburi Expressway project would extend the
popular highway to the busy Maptaput Industrial Estate, giving logistics
companies and exporters a shorter, faster route between Laem Chabang Port
and the capital. As proposed, the highway would run from Pattaya through the
west side of Mabprachan Reservoir, Huay Yai, Sak Ngaew, the eastern side of
the Mabfakthong Reservoir, across Rural Road No. 331, the eastern side of
Khao Chi-Aon, Ban Chang area and terminate at kilometer marker 192 on
Highway 3.
Approximately 1,950 rai of land would be appropriated by
the government and 356 buildings would be affected, project manager Nirat
Tansawat said.
Design and survey work got underway in June and is not
expected to be completed until next May. Nirat said that while the end
points of the highway extension cannot be changed, “that doesn’t mean that
the route cannot be adjusted to avoid affecting people.”
Nirat said the dispute over Highway 7’s planned Sak Ngaew
section is a known issue and that the Highway Department has been working
with residents to find a resolution.
Sompong, however, said the community was initially
presented three proposed routes, two of which residents found preferable to
the one ultimately chosen. However, he said, planners dismissed their
concerns and offered no explanation why the alternate routes were rejected,
saying only that the third plan was “most appropriate.”
Nirat said public hearings like this one will ultimately
help solve the issue, as they help the Highway Department disseminate the
correct information and allow planners to gather community feedback. He said
the problem would continue to be addressed at the next meeting.
