The meeting, led by Sittharit Preedanon, Director of Chiang Mai Highway District 2, along with engineers and representatives from relevant agencies, was the fourth round of public consultations on the project, which aims to ease peak-hour congestion and improve road safety on a corridor seeing steadily increasing traffic volumes.
While residents did not oppose the project outright, communities surrounding the junction — spanning more than ten villages — voiced significant concerns over noise pollution, road safety and the impact on established neighbourhood patterns. A petition signed by 365 residents has been submitted to the Chiang Mai governor calling for a review of the traffic volume data underpinning the project, and for construction to be paused pending a reassessment of the design.
Pornpak Chatupornprasert, director of Anuban San Sai School and spokesperson for the concerned residents, said the core issue was data accuracy. If traffic counts were inflated, the resulting design would be flawed from the outset — with knock-on consequences for safety and pollution. Should construction prove necessary, she said, residents want a design that fits the local context and minimises disruption.
A particular sticking point is the San Khayom underpass design for the old San Sai road, which would remove the ability to turn right at the junction. Residents would instead be required to turn left and double back — a solution many find impractical. Sittharit acknowledged the concern, confirming that the Highway Department’s committee has agreed to revisit the design, with today’s hearing feeding directly into that revision process.
At the Likhit Chewan junction, he said, there are fewer complications: the right-of-way is wide enough to accommodate the works comfortably. Phase one will focus on an underpass for the Chiang Mai–Mae Jo road, where traffic is heaviest, with the Highway 121 overbridge to follow in phase two, subject to budget allocation.
