It is the second expressway to be opened in the country and is 38.4 kilometres (23.9 mi) in length.

The expressway has played an important role in alleviating ground-level road traffic in Bangkok.

[1] Due to a significant increase in road traffic in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, and after the Chaloem Maha Nakhon Expressway was opened, a second expressway was proposed in order to alleviate the increased traffic.

The contract was so corrupt that it led to a court order:[2] Sukavich Rangsitpol said that the authority had sought the intervention of the court following reports that motorists, resentful at being stuck in jams for hours while the completed expressway was unused, might resort to violence unless it was immediately opened.

He said that Bangkok Expressway had no reason to continue to block the highway opening because the government last month reversed an earlier decision and reinstated the toll of 30 baht (USD1.18) that had originally been agreed to.