ST : Long-delayed Bartley-Tampines viaduct opens on Sunday

Jan 15, 2010
Long-delayed Bartley-Tampines viaduct opens on Sunday
By Christopher Tan

AFTER 10 years and more than $100 million, a viaduct linking Bartley and Tampines will open to traffic this Sunday.

The 4.5km link is expected to divert some 10 per cent of traffic from the congested Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) as well as Bedok Reservoir Road, according to Dr Chin Kian Keong, the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) group director (Road Operations and Community Partnership).

He said the new road is expected to cut travel time between Paya Lebar and Tampines by as much as 15 minutes.

The elevated road was actually a two-part project. The first phase, between Kaki Bukit and Tampines Avenue 10, was completed in 2003 by a construction venture between Sato Kogyo and Quek & Quek for $40.6 million.

The second phase, a 2km stretch from Kaki Bukit to Bartley, was originally slated to open in 2005. But it stalled after builder L&M Prestressing, which secured the project for $72 million, ran into financial problems.

In 2006, the LTA called for fresh tenders to complete the job. Local contractor Hock Lian Seng clinched the deal with a bid of $51.6 million.

L&M was paid $15 million for what it completed.

Motorists are looking forward to the new uninterrupted link, although some residents of Bartley are worried it may increase traffic exponentially in the area.

The road currently carries 1,300 vehicles per hour during peak periods. If 10 per cent of the PIE's peak-hour traffic - 8,000 vehicles per hour - diverts here, Bartley Road's vehicular volume could grow by more than 50 per cent.

Businessman Raymond Tang, 44, who lives in Bartley Road, said there are already congestion problems today. He said the road is jammed during the morning peak period as 'a lot of cars are going to Tampines by Bartley'.

He is more concerned that Bartley Road has only one U-turn, and many motorists currently make use of Serangoon Avenue 1 to make a turnaround. With the expected rise in traffic volume, more will do so.

'They have to look out for oncoming traffic, traffic coming out from the side lane, and pedestrians. So it can be a bit dangerous,' Mr Tang said.

The Bartley-Tampines viaduct is Singapore's sixth viaduct.

Also opening on Sunday is a surface road - Bartley Road East - which runs below the viaduct. This will link Airport Road to Hougang Avenue 3.

It will give motorists heading to and from Hougang an alternative to the congested Eunos, Paya Lebar and Upper Serangoon routes.

The LTA has also made provisions for a future ramp that allows motorists in Hougang Avenue 3 to join the Bartley-Tampines viaduct. This is believed to be the first time a viaduct in Singapore has such an engineering design to cater to additional ramps.