Rapid Assessment for Resilient Recovery and ... - GFDRR

Recovery and Reconstruction Requirements
The discussion in this section will be limited to the road network. The railway
reconstruction works have yet to be defined in detail, and are likely to be relatively
straightforward heavy maintenance activities with which the railway workforce is familiar.
For civil aviation, restoration requirements will be limited to repairing damage to the Don
Muang airport airside, terminal, and maintenance facilities, for which provision has been
made in the damage summary presented in Table 34. These works will include
providing asphaltic overlays for the two main runways, replacement of runway lighting,
repair or replacement of electrical and mechanical systems in the terminal, and similar
works. For inland waterways, there has been no damage to transport-related infrastructure.
The dredging and river dike repairs that will be required have been included in the damage
reported in the water resources part of the assessment.
Roads
The agencies responsible for the several parts of the road network – DOH, DRR, and the
provincial and local bodies – have worked quickly and effectively to minimize damage to
their networks during the flood, and to restore it to service as the waters receded.
Damaged pavements were removed where necessary, pavement failures were repaired
by overlays, and drainage structures were restored. From the limited field visits carried out
during the assessment, it was apparent that the immediate restoration works have been
effective, and traffic is using most of the network, albeit for considerable lengths of road
using pavements that are significantly rougher than in the pre-flood condition. In the few
locations where roads remain cut, typically due to a culvert washout, alternative routes are
available and temporary structures can be constructed without significant cost or difficulty.
Reconstruction will be a much larger and longer-term task. For the DOH and DRR networks
alone, the agencies’ assessments have indicated that work of varying scope and
cost is required at more than 1,000 locations. While there is no similar assessment as yet
for rural roads, it can be assumed that the magnitude of the reconstruction task will be
similar, although simpler in nature.
DOH and DRR are presently commencing preparation of designs for the reconstruction
works. Based on discussions with the agencies, most of the works will involve restoring the
roads to their pre-flood condition, with, in some instances, road elevations being raised,
additional cross-drainage structures provided, and more extensive protection works being
specified for sections of the roads where over-topping is likely in future similar floods.
While reconstruction to pre-flood condition may be appropriate in many of the damaged
locations, consideration needs to be given to lessons learned from the impact of this flood
on the network. These include a more overall approach to hydraulic design, alternative
pavements (since concrete pavements perform much better than asphalt pavements when
inundated) and others. These are discussed further below.
110 THAI FLOOD 2011 RAPID ASSESSMENT FOR RESILIENT RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION PLANNING