West end: Amphoe Takua Pa Length 287.7 km | Southeast end: Ban Tha Pae | |
Thailand Route 401 is a highway in southern Thailand. It starts from the west coast of the Thai-Malay Peninsula at an intersection with Route 4 near Amphoe Takua Pa, Phang Nga Province.
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The route runs eastward through Surat Thani Province to the east coast, then southward to Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. It ends at Ban Tha Pae, about 10 km north of Nakhon Si Thammarat town. Route 4012 then connects Ban Tha Pae to Nakhon Si Thammarat town.
Route Details
Route 401 is the main road that connects Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat. It starts near Amphoe Takua Pa as a two-lane single carriageway. Running eastward, it passes through Amphoe Phanom, Amphoe Ban Ta Khun to Amphoe Phunphin. Then it widens to a four-lane dual carriageway and continues to Surat Thani, Amphoe Kanchanadit. It enters Nakhon Si Thammarat province at Amphoe Khanom, but does not pass the town of Khanom. It, then, goes southward pass Amphoe Sichon, Amphoe Tha Sala and ends at Ban Tha Pae, about 10 km north of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Total length is 287.682 km. Of this, 23.628 km is in Phang Nga Province, 186.458 km in Surat Thani Province and 77.596 km in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province.
Most of the route is asphalt. However, a short section from Phun Phin till the start of the Surat Thani bypass is concrete. Almost all of the four-lane section is divided highway, with the exception of short sections at Ban Ton Reang and Ban Tha Pae.
From Amphoe Phunphin to Amphoe Khanom, the route crosses many hills. The highest is Khao Hua Chang, a few kilometers before the intersection with Route 4014. About 1 km east of Khao Hua Chang, the route expand to six lanes, with the outermost lane for slow vehicles such as trucks. Between Amphoe Sichon and Ban Tha Pae, it's mostly level. At Amphoe Tha Sala, the route runs very near the coast (10–50 m) for about 2 km. This is the only section of Route 401 that runs adjacent to the sea.
The section of Route 401 between the intersection with Route 4008 near Amphoe Phun Phin and the intersection with Route 4103 near Ban Tha Pae was once heavily used as a main access route to Bangkok for the lower southern provinces. However, when a new section of Route 41 between Phunphin and Thungsong was finished, the majority of traffic has moved to the new route.
There are two bypasses on Route 401, around Surat Thani (10.282 km) and Tha Sala (4.27 km).
Most of the road from Phunphin to Takua Pa is now viewable on Google Street View, the first long-distance countryside road in southern Thailand to be recorded.