The Bang Na Expressway (full name: Bang Na – Bang Phli – Bang Pakong Expressway), officially Burapha Withi Expressway (Thai: ทางพิเศษบูรพาวิถี, lit. Road to the East), is a 55-kilometer-long (34 mi) six-lane elevated highway in Thailand.[2] It is a toll road running above National Highway 34 (Debaratna Road, Bang Na–Trat Road) and is owned by the Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT).
History
The Bang Na Expressway was conceived by the Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (ETA). The structure was built using a design-build contracting method. The columns and superstructure were designed by Jean M. Muller (U.S.) and the alignment and foundations were designed by Asian Engineering Consultants (Thailand). The owner's designer and engineer was the late Louis Berger of the Louis Berger Group and the project was built by a joint venture of Bilfinger & Berger (Germany) and Ch. Karnchang (Thailand).[3] It took 1,800,000 cubic metres (2,400,000 cu yd) of concrete to build the bridge. The bridge was completed in January 2000[4]
The expressway was opened in its entirety on 7 February 2000.
Structural description
The highway is elevated onto a viaduct that has an average span length of 42 metres (138 ft). It is a 27-metre-wide (89 ft) box girder bridge.
There are two toll plazas on the elevated structure where the structure must widen to accommodate twelve lanes. The toll system is done by Kapsch TrafficCom AB (Sweden).[5]
Route
This expressway has toll plazas for both entry and exit. This table only displays toll plazas for entry onto the expressway.
The world's longest car bridge, the Bang Na Expressway held the title of the world's longest bridge from 2000 until 2008. Today, it is the seventh longest bridge in the world.[citation needed]
