Highway 7 Maptaphut extension opens Friday, May 22 - toll free for 3 months

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This is an extension of Highway 7, for many the quickest route from Bangkok to Pattaya. Now the extension will shorten the trip between Bangkok and Pattaya's U-Tapao airport, bypassing Pattaya completely.

Depending on your location in Pattaya, now you will now be able to decide whether to use this extension or continue to use the existing Rt.3 (Sukhumvit Road) route between Pattaya and the U-Tapao airport. Whichever one the Chinese tour buses will use, I'll use the other one . . .

Now we're waiting for that long-promised high speed rail link between Bangkok, Pattaya, Chachoengsao, and U-Tapao Airport. I'm not even going to try to predict when that will finally happen - if ever.
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Highway 7 Maptaphut extension opens toll-free May 22

By Jetsada Homklin

May 4, 2020

Highway 7’s Maptaphut extension will be toll-free through Aug. 24 when it opens later this month.

Highways Department Director Sarawuth Songwila said the long-awaited expressway will open May 22. Fares will not be collected at the Pong, Pattaya and U-Tapao toll gates for three months while officials test systems and monitor traffic.

The 32-kilometer highway extension is as wide as three lanes each direction. The 14.2-billion-baht construction project is finished. The only tasks remaining are completion and testing of the tollgate and traffic control systems, communication networks and security system. All are expected to be done by July.

The extension runs through Pattaya and ends at Km. 34+400 in Maptaphut Subdistrict in Rayong.

Personal vehicles can have maximum speed at 120 km per hour which is defined for all motorways by the Department of Highways. It will take about 20 minutes for travel. Linking East and Central part will take about one hour and a half – an hour and 50 minutes from Bangkok to U-Tapao.

After Aug. 24, tolls between Bangkok and U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya Airport will be 10-130 baht for cars, 15-210 baht for six-wheeled trucks, and 20-305 baht for larger trucks.

https://www.pattayamail.com/news/highwa ... -22-298091