Authorities have issued a clarification after guideposts were discovered to be made of rubber, rather than concrete, along a highway in Nan province. The statement comes after a viral image of the post’s interior structure went viral last week.
According to a Facebook account called “Watchdog.ACT,” the damaged post was discovered to be made of bamboo poles coated with rubber.
Sarawut Songsivilai, director-general of the Department of Highways (DoH), said the agency signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives on June 12, 2020, as part of a government policy to use the material in guideposts to support rubber prices.
The director-general said the rubber was purchased from agricultural cooperatives to replace damaged highway guideposts. The poles were designed to meet safety standards after being reinforced with bamboo or eucalyptus wood.
Sarawut added that the rubber poles were installed in accordance with engineering safety standards and that the project aided rubber farmers during the price decline. He also insisted on the project being carried out transparently and in accordance with regulations.
A subsequent check revealed that the DoH signed a contract in 2018 to purchase 130,000 rubber poles for approximately 282 million baht. (NNT)
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