250px, Luang road as seen from footbridge near Wat Debsirin, Phlapphla Chai intersection and Klang Hospital are ahead 250px, Nopphawong bridge Luang Road (, , ) is a road in downtown

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, it runs in a short distance of just . The road starts at the corner of Ruan Cham junction from Maha Chai road in front of Special Bangkok Metropolitan Prison (present-day Bangkok Corrections Museum), and southeastward to Krung Kasem road in the area catty-corner from

Bangkok railway station Bangkok (Hua Lamphong) railway station (, ) is a list of railway stations in Thailand, railway station in Pathum Wan district, Pathum Wan, the former central station, central passenger terminal in Bangkok and the former railway hub of Thailand. ...

, also commonly known as Hua Lamphong railway station. Its history begins in 1893, Prince Bidyalabh Pruethidhada, then minister of Public Works, suggested to King

Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...

(Rama V) that a new road be built between Charoen Krung and Bamrung Mueang roads, from the Suea Thayan Fort and reaching the road along the

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem (, ) is a canal (''khlong'') in Bangkok. It was dug in 1851 in order to serve as a new outer moat for the expanding city, extending its boundaries from the Rattanakosin Island to the north and east. History When the cit ...

(present-day Krung Kasem road) and passing the city moat

Khlong Ong Ang Khlong Ong Ang (, ) is a canal (khlong) that forms part of the outer moat (Khlong Rop Krung) and marks the eastern edge of Rattanakosin Island in Bangkok. In 2020, the canal was restored by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to feature ...

to arrive at the road at the front of the Buddhist temple Wat Depsirin and end at the railway station. This road was to be named ''"Luang Road"'' which means ''"royal road"''; it would facilitate people who wanted to board the train. Although it is a short distance, Luang road is carried by two bridges—Raphi Phatthanaphak bridge at the beginning of the road. Its name was given by the king after the name of his son, Prince Raphi Phatthanasak. Assumed that the bridge was completed at the same time as the road in 1897. The bridge as seen today is the reinforced concrete restored bridge. The bridge walls have side curve and cast iron balustrade. At centre of the wall are inscriptions of the bridge's name and the year of restoration (1962). The bridge has metallic light poles at its four ends. Raphi Phatthanaphak bridge is a bridge crossing Khlong Ong Ang, otherwise known as Khlong Rop Krung in the same line as Damrong Sathit, Bhanubandhu, Han, Bophit Phimuk and Osathanond bridges. Another one—King Chulalongkorn had Nopphawong bridge built side by side with the road and he wanted it to be finished in time for his birthday celebration in December 1897, when the king would be the same age as his half-older brother Prince Nopphawong. It across Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem at the area where Prap Sattru Phai Fort used to be located. Nopphawong bridge had been renovated and modified several times. Currently, Luang road is a

one-way traffic One-way traffic (or uni-directional traffic) is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction. One-way streets typicall ...

street, similar to nearby

Yaowarat road Yaowarat Road (, , ; ) in Samphanthawong District is the main artery of Bangkok's Chinatown. Modern Chinatown now covers a large area around Yaowarat and Charoen Krung Road. It has been the main centre for trading by the Chinese community si ...

. The direction of traffic is from Nopphawong intersection, the five-way intersection, where it cuts across Krung Kasem and Mittraphan roads, at the foot of Nopphawong bridge on the northwest side up till reaching Ruan Cham junction. It passes by important places (apart from Wat Debsirin) include

Phlapphla Chai intersection Phlapphla Chai (, ) is the name of a road in Bangkok's Pom Prap and Wat Thep Sirin sub-districts, Pom Prap Sattru Phai District, and also the five-way intersection of the road with Luang and Maitri Chit Roads. It is also the name of the surro ...

and Klang Hospital.

References

{{Coord, 13.747497, N, 100.510172, E, type:isle, display=title Streets in Bangkok 1897 establishments in Siam