Thailand Route 401

Thailand road routebox
code= TNR|401
road= 401
length-km= --
direction= West - Southeast
start= Amphoe Takua Pa
destinations= Nakhon Si Thammarat
end= Ban Tha Pae
construction-date=
completion-date=
junctions=
Asian Highway Network=

Route 401 (TNR|401) starts from west coast at intersection with Route 4 near Amphoe Takua Pa, Phang Nga Province. It goes eastward passing through Surat Thani Province to 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 2-lane. It goes eastward passing Amphoe Phanom, Amphoe Ban Ta Khun to Amphoe Phunphin. Then it is widen to 4-lane 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 about 290 km. About 25 km is in Pang Nga Province, 175 km in Surat Thani Province and 90 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 4-lane section, there is either island or ditch to separate traffic direction. With exception of short section at Ban Ton Reang and Ban Tha Pae, there is nothing to separate between traffic direction.

From Amphoe Phunphin to Amphoe Khanom, the Route passes lots of hills. The highest one is Khao (mountain) Hua Chang, just few kilometer before intersection with Route 4014. About 1 km at the east side of Khao Hua Chang, the Route is expand to 6-lane, the outmost lane is for slow vehicle like trucks. From Amphoe Sichon to Ban Tha Pae, it's almost level. At Amphoe Tha Sala, the Route runs very near to coast (10 - 50 m) for about 2 km. This is the only section that Route 401 meets sea.

The section of Route from the intersection with 4008 near Amphoe Phunphin to intersection with Route 4103 near Ban Tha Pae was heavily used as main route for lower-Southern provinces to Bangkok. However, when Route 41 section Phunphin - Thungsong was finished, a lot of traffic changed to that Route.

There are 2 bypasses around Surat Thani (about 11 km) and Tha Sala (about 4 km).

List of Intersection

*Phang Nga Province
**(Start) Route 4 (northward to Ranong Province, southward to Phang Nga Province, Phuket Province)
**Route 4090 (southward to Amphoe Kapong)
*Surat Thani Province
**Route 4118 (southward to Amphoe Thap Put)
**Route 415 (southward to Phang Nga Province)
**Route 41 (northward to Chumphon Province, southward to Trang Province, Krabi Province)
**Route 4008 (westward to Amphoe Phunphin)
**Route 417 (northward to Surat Thani Airport
**Route 4009 (southward to Amphoe Ban Na Doem, Amphoe Ban Na San)
**Route 44 (southward to Trang Province, Krabi Province)
**Route 4142 (northward to Amphoe Don Sak, ferry pier to Ko Samui)
*Nakhon Si Thammarat Province
**Route 4014 (northward to Amphoe Khanom)
**Route 4140 (westward to Amphoe Nopphitam, eastward to Amphoe Tha Sala)
**Route 4103 (southward to Phatthalung Province)
**(End) Route 4012 (southward to Nakhon Si Thammarat)