BANGKOK – The massive sinkhole on Samsen Road in Bangkok’s Dusit district is expanding, requiring significantly more filling material than initially estimated and complicating repair efforts. The announcement was made by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) on Wednesday, highlighting the ongoing challenges at the site which appeared above an underground railway station under construction on September 24.

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MRTA Construction Director Wacharapon Khongsawad revealed that the cavity, originally measured at 30 meters wide, 30 meters long, and 20 meters deep, has since grown in size. He stated that the initial estimate of 8,000 cubic meters of sand required to fill the hole is now insufficient, confirming that “it would need more than that.” Mr. Wacharapon described the filling operation as a race against time, noting that by Wednesday, workers had managed to reduce the depth to approximately 4.5 meters.

Bangkok’s giant sinkhole is expanding https://t.co/iv5ijucEvV

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The accelerated filling operation aims to stabilize the ground beneath the damaged Samsen Police Station, which is slated for demolition, and to facilitate the reopening of this section of Samsen Road before the new school semester begins. Authorities indicated that once the hole is filled and the road reopened, the demolition of the police station will proceed, though the process will occasionally require partial road closures.

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Engineers are continuously monitoring adjacent buildings for any signs of movement or structural compromise. The MRTA has attributed the subsidence to water-saturated, soft soil in the area surrounding the Purple Line extension construction site.

-Thailand News (TN)