B210m fine for falling expressway beam

Construction suspended for 7 days pending investigation into incident on Rama II Road

Expressway officials and a policeman inspect the site where a large precast beam fell onto Rama II Road in Bangkok. (Photo: Expressway Authority of Thailand)
Expressway officials and a policeman inspect the site where a large precast beam fell onto Rama II Road in Bangkok. (Photo: Expressway Authority of Thailand)

The Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) has initially fined its contractor 210 million baht and suspended construction for seven days pending an investigation into a falling beam that killed one person and damaged four cars on Rama II Road on Sunday.

Exat governor Surachet Laophulsuk said on Tuesday that CTB Joint Venture was subject to a daily fine of 30 million baht during the seven-day suspension, under the terms of its contract with the state enterprise.

During the construction suspension, the parties concerned would find exactly what caused the expressway beam to fall and review safety measures, he said.

Mr Surachet said he had asked the Engineering Institute of Thailand to take part in the investigation into the accident involving a precast beam for the new Rama III-Bangkok western ring road expressway project.

If the incident resulted from recklessness, the Exat would take legal action and blacklist the construction consortium, he said.