Or a bridge too far?
Recently I stumbled over this drawing of a combined bridge and tunnel from the mainland in Donsak all the way up to Koh Samui with a bypass or stopover on Koh Tan, just in front of Samui's coast.
Great plans!
At this moment I don't know how old or serious these plans are and where they originate from. Apparent costs come at a price tag of 7,500 Million Thai Baht. The text at the bottom right of the picture gives the name of the architect and that he works for the Tessabaan, the local governmental authority. The upper left logo is also a Governmental logo.
If it will go ahead, let alone if it will be completed as designed, it 's almost as long as the Penang bridge in Malaysia which measures 13.5km and is the 4th longest bridge in Asia. It took 4 years from announcement to opening of that bridge.
The idea is great and would be a fantastic addition to the islands infrastructure but will most likely gain strong opposition from the ferry operators between Samui and the mainland and possibly also from Bangkok Air. All of them may be afraid of loss in traffic and revenue.
Once officially announced, environmental organisations will have their say although it looks the Gulf of Thailand in these are is shallow enough to build such a structure.
Besides the great idea of the bridge, making for easier connections to the mainland, the internal roads around Koh Samui will have to be upgraded to be able to deal with the potential increase in traffic on the already lethally dangerous and at times clogged roads around the island. Putting a tar layer on top of the old concrete roads will most likely not be enough.
An interesting project to keep an eye out on.
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Camille
