300px, Rama II Road in the area of Samut Sakhon Province Rama II Road (, ; usually shortened to , ) or Highway 35 (, ) is a road in Thailand heading towards the

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

. Rama II Road starts from Chom Thong District in the

Thonburi __NOTOC__ Thonburi () is an area of modern Bangkok. During the era of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Kingdom of Ayutthaya, its location on the right (west) bank at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River had made it an important garrison town, which is ref ...

side of Bangkok, passing through Bang Khun Thian District into

Samut Sakhon Province Samut Sakhon (, ) is one of the central provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand, located along the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. In 2024, it had a population of 590,867, and an area of 866 km², making it the 43rd most populated province whilst b ...

. It then enters

Samut Songkhram Province Samut Songkhram (, ) is one of the central Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from the south clockwise) Phetchaburi province, Phetchaburi, Ratchaburi province, Ratchaburi and Samut Sakhon pr ...

and terminates at a junction with

Phet Kasem Road Phet Kasem Road (, , ) or Highway 4 (, ) is one of the four primary highways in Thailand, along with Phahonyothin Road (Highway 1), Mittraphap Road (Highway 2), and Sukhumvit Road (Highway 3). At 1,310.554 km, route 4 is the longest highway ...

(Highway 4) in

Ratchaburi Province Ratchaburi province (, ) or Rat Buri () is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat'') lies in Western Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram and ...

, with a total distance of . The road is maintained by the Department of Highways.

History

Rama II Road was built during the government of Field Marshal

Thanom Kittikachorn Thanom Kittikachorn (, , ; 11 August 1911 – 16 June 2004) was Prime Minister of Thailand from 1963 to 1973, military officer, who supported and initiated military coups and became Thailand's defence minister. He rose to power when he staged a ...

with a total budget of approximately 419 million baht and was officially opened on 1 April 1973. It was named "Rama II" in honor of King

Phutthaloetla Naphalai Phutthaloetla Naphalai (born Chim; 24 February 1767 or 1768 – 21 July 1824), also known by his regnal name Rama II, was the second King of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 1809 to 1824. In 1809, Itsarasunthon succeeded his father ...

(Rama II) of the

Chakri dynasty The Chakri dynasty is the current reigning dynasty of the Thailand, Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the Monarchy of Thailand, king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin era and ...

, who was born in present-day Samut Songkhram Province. Construction began in 1970, divided into 3 phases: # Thonburi to Samut Sakhon, a distance of 29 km, construction cost 180 million

baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

# Samut Sakhon to Samut Songkhram, a distance of 36 km, construction cost 142 million baht #Samut Songkhram to meet Phet Kasem Road at the km 125.5 in area of Pak Tho District, Ratchaburi Province, distance 19 km, along with Somdet Phra Phutthaloetla Naphalai Bridge, the bridge over

Mae Klong River The Mae Klong (, , ), sometimes spelled Meklong, is a river in western Thailand. The river begins in Kanchanaburi Province and flows across Ratchaburi Province and Samut Songkhram Province. Course The origin of the river is in Kanchanaburi to ...

, including construction cost 99 million baht. Upon its completion, the road became an important travel route which shortened the travel time to the south, bypassing Phet Kasem Road and helping to divert its traffic. A side effect of the road's construction was that the

Maeklong Railway The Maeklong Railway (also known as the Mae Klong Railway) is a railway that runs for nearly between Wongwian Yai, Bangkok, and Samut Songkhram in central Thailand. The railway became famous for its route through the Maeklong Railway Market, ni ...

line became less frequented and unprofitable, but still could not be retired due to some villages remaining accessible only by train.

Ongoing construction projects and accidents

There has been widespread criticism that Rama II Road is an "unfinished road" or "endless road" due to constant repairs and new construction projects, which have lasted from the initial construction in the 1970s up to the present: , there were four ongoing projects on the road, due to finish in 2025. Therefore, it resembles a road that was never completed. The impact of constant construction has led to many fatal accidents and traffic congestion problems, which have been blamed as a contributing factor towards the decline of popular tourist destinations like

Hua Hin Hua Hin (, ) is one of eight districts (''amphoe'') of Prachuap Khiri Khan province in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula in Thailand. Its seat of government, also named Hua Hin, is a beach resort town. The district's population was estim ...

. At 4:13 am on 29 November 2024, a launching gantry crane and precast concrete segments collapsed on the outbound side of Rama II Road at the construction site of the Ekkachai - Ban Phaeo Intercity Motorway 82 (M82) section in Khok Krabue Subdistrict, Mueang Samut Sakhon District,

, resulting in six deaths and eight injuries. All the victims were workmen. On 15 March 2025, a section of the under-construction Dao Khanong Expressway Bridge collapsed onto Rama II Road, causing seven confirmed deaths.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rama 02 Road National highways of Thailand Streets in Bangkok 1973 establishments in Thailand