Fully open KPE, new expressway, Thomson rail line will cut travelling time to city
MOTORIST Shiva Bhaskaran pays between $4 and $5 in Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges daily to get to work.
The 49-year-old information technology director passes under two gantries on his 25-minute drive from his Yio Chu Kang home to his office in Raffles Link via the Central Expressway (CTE).Said the owner of an eight-year-old Mercedes-Benz: 'I use the CTE although it is not the only route I can use. It's the most convenient.'
He may have a few alternative routes now, but more viable choices in travel routes - and even travel modes - will open up for him by 2020, as for all those living in the north and north-east corridor.
Residents living in areas such as Woodlands, Sembawang, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio and Bishan will benefit from some of the projects Transport Minister Raymond Lim listed yesterday.
First up, the opening of the rest of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) on Sept 20, following the opening of its maiden 3km stretch from Sims Avenue to Fort Road in the East Coast Parkway last October.
When fully open, a 12km underground stretch will link north-east neighbourhoods such as Buangkok, Bartley and Tampines to the Pan-Island Expressway and the city.
Those living in these northern suburbs can expect to cut commuting time to the city by a quarter, said Mr Lim, at the unveiling of the third and final part of the the Land Transport Review.
But the $1.74 billion KPE is not the only facility built to meet the travel demands of these residents. Another new expressway, the 21km North-South Expressway (NSE), will be built parallel to the CTE by 2020.
Singapore's 11th expressway, costing between $7 billion and $8 billion, is expected to cut travel time to the city by nearly a third, for those in the north. The NSE has been raised before as the long-term answer to the CTE's congestion, but the Government has, till now, held off building it.
Asked why it was the right time now, Mr Lim replied that travel demand in the northern corridor was projected to grow by 63 per cent.
Besides the KPE and the NSE, the Government - which hopes to persuade more to use public transport - will add a new north-south rail line, the Thomson line, for residents in the north.
The 27km rail line announced last week will run from Woodlands to Marina Bay and link Sin Ming, Kim Seng and Thomson, neighbourhoods now outside the rail network.
By 2018, commuters in Sin Ming, for example, can shave 20 minutes off the 45 minutes it now takes to get to town.
Expressways and road interchanges in the northern corridor going south to the city will also be widened.
By 2011, the CTE will have an extra lane from Jalan Toa Payoh to Yio Chu Kang; traffic flow will also be improved along the northbound CTE where it enters the PIE.
Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC Ellen Lee is hopeful that the measures will relieve the congestion her constituents experience during the morning rush hour.
But just how will motorists take to the new projects, and will they bite at the alternative means of travel offered?
For Mr Shiva, giving up his car is not an option as he can afford it and also 'because I have invested so much in my car'.
But he added: 'I will definitely use the North-South Expressway when it's ready.'
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