Bangkok Tunnel Leak: Partial Road Reopening Amid Ongoing Repairs

Roads were partially reopened to traffic near Bangkok's Wongwian Yai on Sunday as repairs continued underground to the leaking Purple Line rail tunnel in Klong San district, which earlier caused subsidence. The Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA), which owns the line, said three lanes reopened on the inbound side of Prajadhipok Road from Wongwian Yai to Ban Khaek intersection at 6am on Sunday. Outbound traffic remained closed. Motorists can use Lat Ya Road instead. Prajadhipok Road has been closed since the subsidence was first detected when water started to leak into the Purple Line tunnel, which is still under construction, two weeks ago. The MRTA said the contractor of the Purple Line extension was continuing to grout the tunnel to stop the leak, which was 37 metres underground. Engineers monitoring the scene said there was no sign of any movement of buildings within a 30-metre radius of the leak site. There had also been no further subsidence along Prajadhipok Road. The water leak occurred in one of the two tunnels in the extended section of the Purple Line railway system. The extended section was also the site of a huge sinkhole on Samsen Road in Dusit district last year. The present leak was spotted at a sump pit in the tunnel. It caused the subsidence of about 30 centimetres of the surface of Prajadhipok Road, and big cracks appeared in some nearby buildings. The Purple Line's southern extension route spans 23.6 kilometres, stretching from Tao Poon to Rat Burana with 10 underground and seven elevated stations. It will integrate with the existing MRT Blue Line and Purple Line at the Tao Poon interchange, enhancing connectivity across the capital.