About 40 percent of Soi Siam Country Club has opened to traffic over the objections of contractors who eventually caved to the demands of Nongprue Sub-district and hundreds of residents infuriated by three years of roadwork.
Executives from lead contractor Sriwarlee Co. yielded to the demands of embattled Nongprue Mayor Mai Chaiyanit at a Jan. 5 meeting called after the mayor promised to get at least some of thoroughfare open by the New Year.
The contractor has been fined 140,000 a day in penalties since Dec. 29 for failing to finish the work.
Sriwarlee agreed to open about 40 percent of the street, even though work to clear debris from the sewers still is underway. However, the contractor demanded Nongprue provide rubber cones and barriers to protect workers, who the company said were at risk of injury by drivers speeding down the newly finished road.
Sriwarlee project manager Eakarin Ninwadee said the road surface itself was finished, but soil and rock waste from underneath the sewers is still being brought up.
The partial opening marked a victory for area residents who have endured three years of catastrophically delayed construction, which forced many businesses into bankruptcy and left others with significant property damage.
Mai again found himself apologizing to the public after yet another promised completion date came and went without the road opening. The project is now a year behind schedule.
