ST : Farrer Road straightens out as MRT work ends

Oct 25, 2010

Farrer Road straightens out as MRT work ends

By Christopher Tan, motor mouth



Farrer Road before is now straight and has been widened (above). -- ST PHOTOS: ALPHONSUS CHERN, CAROLINE CHIA

FARRER Road is back to its original alignment after six years of twisty diversions necessary for construction of the Circle Line.

The busy thoroughfare has not only been straightened, but has also been widened. It now has four lanes each way, up from three.

With that, the traffic bottleneck which has been the bugbear of motorists since the construction started in 2004 has been removed.

'There should be significant improvement to traffic flow,' said retired traffic planner Joseph Yee, 65.

Farrer Road is part of the $400 million Outer Ring Road System, which currently allows motorists to travel over 20km from Tampines to Queensway with only two traffic lights along Lornie Road.

Motorist Adrian Wang, 50, is glad Farrer Road is straight again. 'I've been avoiding travelling that way for years because of the peak-hour jams at Farrer,' said the warehouse manager. 'I will go back to using it when the occasion arises.'

Workers were seen putting the finishing touches to the Farrer Road MRT station exterior last week.

The station is part of the remaining two stages of the Circle Line which will open by the middle of next year. The stages link Marymount to HarbourFront, passing places like the Botanic Gardens and Holland Village along the way.

A Land Transport Authority (LTA) spokesman said all 12 of the completed stations along this stretch are expected to achieve temporary occupation permits by the end of this year.

'The stations will then be architecturally fitted with electrical and mechanical works,' she added.

The Farrer Road station has one unique feature: a pedestrian overhead bridge with lifts at both ends.

This is to allow pedestrians to cross the road after train service hours, when the underground station - which forms an underpass across Farrer Road - is closed.

The LTA, however, said the bridge is not part of a plan currently under study to erect overhead bridges with lifts at selected MRT stations. It said that study had not been completed.

Ms Lee Bee Wah, an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, who has been lobbying for such facilities for three years now, hopes they will be built.

'I really hope they'll do it, especially if we want to encourage our senior citizens to be active and take public transport,' she said.

Two other roads diverted by Circle Line works - Holland and North Buona Vista - are expected to return to their original alignment in the next few weeks.