Experts point to lack of reinforcement after light beam was dismantled and repaired earlier
A missing section of reinforcing fishing rods is believed to possess caused the failure of a concrete beam that fell onto three passing automobiles on Rama II Road on This summer 31, killing a couple and injuring two others, a fact-finding committee has concluded.
Section of the reinforcement section was believed to have been removed when the top concrete slab of the U-turn bridge was disassembled previously for in-depth repairs, Pisak Jitviriyavasin, the deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport, said on Thursday.
As a result, the particular outermost structure grew to become distorted and dropped support, he stated, citing a preliminary record by the committee into the incident that happened in Samut Sakhon, just west of Bangkok.
The irregularities seen in the beam were unlikely to be associated with a fire caused by any sort of accident involving a gas tanker that occurred on the bridge on June 19, 2005, as was previously believed, Mr Pisak added.
The particular Department of Roads expects to finish redesigning the bridge by the end of next month. Design is scheduled to start in October after a public hearing, and also to conclude in December, this individual said.
Before the bridge is definitely officially reopened, the department and the Engineering Institute of Thailand will run tests until they are certain it meets the safest engineering requirements, he said.
Mr Pisak has asked the particular fact-finding committee in order to submit an official report to the transport minister as soon as possible, along with an action plan.
As for the settlement plan for affected events, the Department associated with Highways has been advised to speed up the particular payment of problems and ensure they satisfy ministry regulations.