Highway 418 (Thailand)

Highway 418 or Ngamae–Thasap or Yarang Bypass Highway, has a total distance of 35.649 kilometres (22.151 mi) from Ban Khlong Khut , Nong Chik District , Pattani Province, to Ban Thasap, Thasap Subdistrict, Mueang Yala District, Yala Province. It is a construction project of the Army Engineers to help solve problems in the southern border provinces. It is a standard four-lane highway, helping to shorten the distance by 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from the original route for the benefit of travel and transportation of goods in the southern border provinces.

National Highway 418
ทางหลวงแผ่นดินหมายเลข 418
ถนนเลี่ยงเมืองยะรัง Yarang Bypass Highway
Route information
Length	35.648 km (22.151 mi)
Existed	2002–present
Major junctions
North end	Hwy 4296 in Mueang Pattani, Pattani
Major intersections	Hwy 42 / AH18 in Mueang Pattani Hwy 43 in Nong Chik
South end	Hwy 409 in Mueang Yala, Yala
Location
Country	Thailand
Provinces	Pattani, Yala
Districts	Mueang Pattani, Nong Chik, Maelan, Mueang Yala
Highway system
Highways in Thailand Motorways Asian Highways

This highway was opened for testing on 15 November 2009 and handed back to Highways Office 18 (Songkhla), with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva presiding over the official opening and handover ceremony on 7 January 2010.

Construction ands obstacles

The Highway 418 project had a contract signed with the contractor since July 2002 and construction was carried out with a budget of 703.50 million baht. However, since this project occurred during the transitional period of the unrest in the 3 southern border provinces , which occurred since January 2004, it became an obstacle for the contractor, to the point of having to terminate the contract and abandon the construction work in the end.

Later, the Cabinet resolved on 27 November 2006 to assign the Department of Military Engineering to be responsible for the completion of the project. The test run was conducted on 15 November 2009, with a total construction period of 720 days according to the contract. All together, the construction of this highway took more than 8 years and cost 1 billion baht. Due to higher than normal material prices in the area, labor shortages, and the cost of taking care of the safety of the officers during the construction, the Department of Military Engineering requested an additional budget of 204 million baht from the construction budget of 1 billion baht.

Spceial features

Highway 418 is different from other highways in the three southern border provinces. It is the first four-lane standard highway in the southern border provinces. There are no intersections along the way, but an elevated road with approximately 20 bridges is used. This means that there are no traffic lights on this highway, allowing users to travel faster. It also shortens the distance from Highway 409 by 13 kilometers, which has only two lanes. The journey takes 45 minutes, while Highway 418 takes only 25 minutes.

List of junctions and towns

Km	Exit	Junctions	To	Remarks
Yarang Bypass Highway (Pattani-Yala)
0+000		ปัตตานี (งาแม่ใน) PATTANI (Ngamae Nai)	WEST Hwy 4296 ดอนรัก Don Rak Hwy 4296 หนองจิก Nong Chik EAST Hwy 4296 รูสะมีแล Rusamilae Hwy 4296 เมืองปัตตานี Mueang Pattani || T-junctions
0+25X		ปัตตานี (งาแม่นอก) Pattani (Ngamae Nok)	WEST Hwy 42 AH18 หนองจิก Nong Chik Hwy 42 AH18 หาดใหญ่ Hat Yai Hwy 42 AH18 สงขลา Songkhla Hwy 42 AH18 สะเดา Sadao Hwy 42 AH18 กรุงเทพ Bangkok EAST Hwy 42 AH18 ยะหริ่ง Yaring Hwy 42 AH18 นราธิวาส Narathiwat Hwy 42 AH18 สูไหงโก-ลก Su-ngai Kolok|| Junctions
ชายแดนอำเภอเมืองปัตตานี Mueang Pattani district border
Mueang Pattani-Nong Chik border
ชายแดนอำเภอหนองจิก Nong Chik district border
6+1XX		หนองจิก (มะพร้าวต้นเดียว) Nong Chik (Maphrao Tondiao)	WEST Hwy 43 โคกโพธิ์ Khok Pho Hwy 43 หาดใหญ่ Hat Yai Hwy 43 สงขลา Songkhla Hwy 43 กรุงเทพ Bangkok EAST Hwy 43 ยะรัง Yarang Hwy 43 ยะลา Yala Hwy 43 ยะหริ่ง Yaring Hwy 43 นราธิวาส Narathiwat Hwy 43 สูไหงโก-ลก Su-ngai Kolok || Roundabout
ชายแดนอำเภอหนองจิก Nong Chik district border
Nong Chik-Mae Lan border
ชายแดนอำเภอแม่ลาน Mae Lan district border
		แม่ลาน Mae Lan	WEST PN.3058 EAST PN.3058 || Interchanges
Mae Lan railroad bridge
ชายแดนอำเภอแม่ลาน Mae Lan district border
Pattani-Yala provincial border
ชายแดนอำเภอเมืองยะลา Mueang Yala district border
		วงเวียนบ่อเจ็ดลูก Seven Wells Roundabout		Roundabout
35.649		ยะลา (ท่าสาป) YALA (Thasap)	WEST Hwy 409 ยะหา Yaha Hwy 409 โคกโพธิ์ Khok Pho Hwy 409 สงขลา Songkhla EAST Hwy 409 เมืองยะลา Mueang Yala Hwy 409 รามัน Raman Hwy 409 กรงปินัง Krong Pinang || T-interchanges

Reference

• [1] Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine