Phuket Traffic Plan: Patong Tunnel Still Years Away

Relief from Phuket traffic jams is still years away. At a meeting on Tuesday, November 3, Governor Chotinarin Kerdsom reviewed the island's big road and rail projects. The Patong tunnel is not due to open until 2031, and the light rail line not until late 2032, The Phuket News reported on November 4.

The meeting also produced eight directives for the high season, but the paper noted that almost none of the ideas were new.

Where the big projects stand

The third meeting this year of the Phuket Road Traffic Management Subcommittee took place at Provincial Hall, with Vice Governor Romdon Hayiawae and representatives of the agencies involved. Officials gave these timelines:

Kathu-Patong Expressway (Patong tunnel), phase one: about 4km, still being prepared for submission to the Cabinet. Building is expected to start in 2027, with opening planned for 2031.
Mueang Mai-Ko Kaew-Kathu Expressway, phase two: about 30km. Its environmental impact report has been approved. It should go to the Cabinet in 2027, with construction from 2028 and operation in 2031.
Phuket light rail (airport to Chalong Circle): still in the administrative stage. The Ministry of Transport wants work to start only after Route 4027 through Pa Khlok has been widened. Construction is now expected in late 2029 and service in December 2032.

The widening of Route 4027 between Baan Para and Baan Mueang Mai is held up by land handovers, permission to use forest land and the moving of utility poles. The governor urged agencies to work together to keep it on schedule. A study on improving Thepkrasattri Road (Route 402), including medians, U-turns and bottlenecks, was also presented.

Buses and high-season ideas

Officials said six Category 1 bus routes and 13 Category 4 routes now cover about 96% of the island. They also pointed to the EV bus services and the Phuket Bus app, which works in four languages.

For the coming high season, the meeting discussed Park & Ride sites, more EV shuttle buses, set hours for heavy trucks, better parking in busy areas and an AI system that would adjust traffic lights in real time. The Phuket News said all of these have appeared in earlier plans, and the report gave no firm dates and did not confirm that the AI system is working in Phuket.

The governor's eight directives

use AI to manage traffic-light timings;
enforce traffic laws more strictly, especially against wrong-way driving and illegal parking;
set operating hours and routes for trucks with 10 or more wheels;
consider special parking zones for electric vehicles;
link CCTV cameras run by different agencies into the "Phuket Eye" network and add about 1,400 more cameras;
improve road medians and safety equipment, including signs in two languages;
stop theft of public property such as electrical wiring;
regulate street vendors and people using footpaths.

The provincial office was also told to build a dashboard to track progress and report twice a month.

What it means for drivers

For now, residents and visitors should expect the usual high-season queues on the roads to Patong, the airport and Chalong. Public buses and EV shuttles are the main alternatives for the moment. See our reports on the Phuket EV bus from the airport to Rawai and how to get from Phuket airport to Patong.

Photo: traffic in Patong at night, by ADwarf / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0. File photo.