Workers and heavy machinery are moving quickly to remove the existing road surface along the outer side of Chiang Mai’s moat, from Ku Hueang Gate (Jaeng Ku Hueang) – Hua Lin Gate – Si Phum Gate, in preparation for laying new asphalt. The project will restore smoother and safer road surfaces along approximately 3.2 kilometres.
The roads around the moat have been dug up at dozens of locations as part of the project to move electrical and communications cables underground around Chiang Mai’s old city moat, known as the “Chiang Mai, Beautiful City Without Wires” project by the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA).
Road excavation for the underground network began in 2023, severely affecting motorists with rough, potholed surfaces. Over the past three years, there have been several accidents caused by excavated sections and unfinished work by contractors, leaving the moat road looking more like a construction zone than a city thoroughfare.
Now that construction of the underground network has been completed and the Provincial Electricity Authority has returned the road areas to the Chiang Mai Municipality, the municipality has ordered work to restore the road surfaces immediately.
Chiang Mai Mayor Assanee Buranupakorn said the latest resurfacing project covers Section 4 of the Chiang Mai moat road, from Ku Hueang Gate to Hua Lin Gate and Si Phum Gate on the outer side of the moat.
The contractor is Chiang Mai S.P. Construction Co., Ltd. The contract began on 17th July 2026 and is scheduled to end on 13th November 2026, with a construction budget of 18.78 million baht.
The work was originally expected to take around three months. However, the municipality has instructed the contractor to revise its work plan and accelerate construction, with the aim of completing the project ahead of schedule, provided there are no periods of heavy rain.
The goal is to reopen the road to traffic as quickly as possible, ahead of the influx of tourists expected to arrive in Chiang Mai during the upcoming high season.
