Wide-ranging efforts include covering drains and raising roads
Straits Times 23 Jun 11;
AS PART of its flood protection measures, the PUB covered the open section of a drain along Grange Road on Monday.
Water from the drain had surged into Tanglin Mall on June 5, flooding the mall's supermarket and carparks. Covering the drain will prevent water from overflowing, a PUB spokesman said.
Other measures taken by PUB include:
*Raising a depressed portion of Tomlinson Road;
*Installing about 2.4km of safety railings in 24 areas, including Commonwealth Lane, Hillview Avenue, Marymount Lane and Marsiling Drive;
*Widening and deepening Bukit Timah Canal, to be completed by December 2012;
*Constructing an outlet drain near Lorong Bakar Batu, scheduled for completion in September.
In August, the PUB will widen and deepen the drain at Mandalay Road into which a 15-year-old Indonesian boy fell and drowned earlier this month. It will also raise the road to improve drainage.
PUB also awarded a $2.5 million contract to infrastructure and civil engineering firm OKP Holdings yesterday to improve roadside drains in several residential estates. The firm had secured a $3.4 million contract last month to improve drains in other areas.
Some Orchard malls have also instituted flood protection measures. Tanglin Mall centre director Jenny Ng said floodgates will be installed at the mall's entrances.
At Liat Towers, pipes have been upgraded to improve water flow to the canal, said Mr Lam Chik Hai, a supervisor at Liat Towers Building Management.
The building's management is still evaluating whether to install a second set of flood barriers in front of the ground floor shops such as Massimo Dutti, he said.
ROYSTON SIM
