Chaloem Maha Nakhon Expressway
The Chaloem Maha Nakhon Expressway (), also known as the First Stage Expressway System (), is an expressway in Thailand, located in Bangkok. It is the first expressway to be opened in the country and is 27.1 kilometres in length. The expressway has played an important role in alleviating ground-level road traffic in Bangkok. The expressway is a controlled-access toll road. Rama IX Bridge, is part of the Tha Ruea–Dao Khanong expressway section. History Due to a significant increase in road traffic in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, an expressway system was proposed in order to alleviate the heavy ground-level road traffic and in preparation for the predicted increase in car usage. The Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT) was tasked to construct Thailand's first expressway in 1978 to connect three main highways leading out of Bangkok to the outlying provinces. This was Vibhavadi Rangsit Road to the north, Debaratna Road to the east and Rama II Road (Thonburi - Pak Tho Road) to the south. A total of 8.51 billion baht was invested in the project, with mainly government funding and some funding from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The first section between Din Daeng–Tha Ruea was completed and unofficially opened