New dual four-lane road in Bukit Brown to ease traffic

Channel NewsAsia 12 Sep 11;

SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will construct a new dual four-lane road by 2016 in Bukit Brown to alleviate congestion along Lornie Road and the PIE during peak hours.

Construction of the new road is expected to begin in early 2013 and will be completed by 2016, said a joint news release from the LTA, the Urban Redevelopment Authority and National Parks Board.

It added that the new road will serve as the new link connecting motorists travelling between Thomson Road, Adam Road and PIE, and is part of the road network that will support future developments in Bukit Brown.

Today with increased traffic, Lornie Road experiences heavier traffic than before, especially during the morning and evening peak hours.

This is also because Lornie Road currently functions as a strategic road link allowing motorists travelling between the east and the west of the island to bypass the city.

Lornie Road is also an essential road connection for traffic between PIE and residential estates in the central and northern parts of the island, such as Ang Mo Kio, Bishan and Thomson.

In line with long term plans, Bukit Brown area will also be developed for housing in the future and the new road will connect Bukit Brown with the rest of the road network.

It is estimated that the new road will affect about five per cent of the more than 100,000 graves in the Bukit Brown Cemetery.

A grave identification exercise will be conducted soon to confirm the actual number of graves affected.

- CNA/ck

New road to ease Lornie Road jams
Royston Sim Straits Times 13 Sep 11;

A NEW road will be built in Bukit Brown by 2016, easing peak-hour snarls along Lornie Road.

In a statement yesterday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said construction of the estimated 2km road - four lanes in each direction - is expected to begin in early 2013.

The road will start from Lornie Road near Caldecott Hill and cut through the existing Bukit Brown cemetery before joining Adam Road near the slip roads leading to the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE).

It will connect motorists travelling between Thomson Road, Adam Road and the PIE.

An LTA spokesman said currently between 6,000 and 7,000 vehicles per hour use Lornie Road during peak hours.

Traffic is expected to increase between 20 per cent and 30 per cent by 2020 due to future developments in central and northern Singapore.

'The projected traffic volumes would be well beyond what the current Lornie Road can handle,' said the spokesman.

The LTA has also observed slow traffic on the slip roads connecting Lornie Road and the PIE.

The spokesman said the project's cost will be known only after the tender - not called yet - is awarded.

After the new road is completed, Lornie Road will be downsized to a dual-two lane road, from four lanes going towards Adam Road and three towards Braddell.

The freed-up space will be used for future park connectors alongside the existing nature reserve.

Lornie Road functions as a link in the Outer Ring Road System, a network of major roads that allow motorists travelling between the east and west of Singapore to bypass the city.

It is also a vital connection between the PIE and residential estates in the central and northern parts such as Ang Mo Kio, Bishan and Thomson.

Asked why the new road was not built when LTA widened Lornie Road in 2009, the spokesman said the agencies had to ensure that new roads would not adversely affect the nature reserves.

Accordingly, the LTA widened Lornie Road in the direction of Adam Road as an interim measure to alleviate congestion.

In its joint statement with the Urban Redevelopment Authority and National Parks Board, the LTA said various agencies have worked closely to plan an alignment that takes into consideration more immediate transport needs as well as long-term development plans for the area.

It said the agencies took care to avoid adversely affecting the nature reserves near MacRitchie Reservoir or acquiring private land for this road project.

It is also part of a road network that will support future developments in Bukit Brown.

The URA has already earmarked the area for future housing development due to its central location and proximity to established residential areas.

There are also plans for a future Circle Line MRT station to serve the area when it is developed.

The LTA estimates that the new road will affect about 5 per cent of more than 100,000 graves in the Bukit Brown cemetery.

It will call a tender this month to identify the graves and exhumation will take place in the fourth quarter of next year.

Motorists are happy that a new road will be built.

Piano teacher Jolly Liew, 45, said traffic flow on Lornie Road is quite bad after 8am on weekdays. She uses it up to three times a week during peak hours to take her father from their home in Clementi to his office in MacPherson.

On the way back, it can take more than an hour to reach home due to the congestion. She said: 'The new road sounds good. Anything to ease the traffic is good because traffic in that area can be quite bad.'

Redevelopment plans for Bukit Brown site
Straits Times 13 Sep 11;

A NEW dual four-lane road is the first step in the clearance and redevelopment of the Bukit Brown area.

When the road is completed by 2016, it will serve as a link between Adam Road, the Pan-Island Expressway and Thomson Road for residents of future developments there.

Provisions have also been made to connect future residents to the MRT network, with an area set aside for a Bukit Brown MRT station on the Circle Line.

However, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) could not give details of the other developments slated for the area.

Heritage enthusiasts have been lobbying to keep the area untouched after the URA announced in May that the 86ha Bukit Brown cemetery off Lornie Road is likely to make way for redevelopment.

The building of the new road alone will affect about 5 per cent of the more than 100,000 graves in the cemetery.

Once the graves that need to be exhumed have been identified, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will contact families affected.

The exhumations and cremations of the remains in these graves will be done in the fourth quarter of next year.

Assistant Professor Chua Ai Lin, an executive member of the Singapore Heritage Society, said it was still unclear what the impact of the road would be on the cemetery.

'LTA has not confirmed where exactly the road will cut through and which graves are to be exhumed,' she said.

She pointed out that the graves of more prominent personalities are located on higher hillside.

These include the remains of the 19th-century tycoon Ong Sam Leong.

'What we feel should have been done was to give us more lead time in documenting these graves,' she said, noting that construction work for the road begins in 2013.

The society is in the midst of organising a team of experts to document the more than 100,000 graves.

She added, however, that the LTA seemed open and flexible to the suggestions of the society on preserving some of the more important graves.

Nature Society (Singapore) president Shawn Lum said it may be possible for the building of the road to be done in a particular way to minimise the impact on nature.

'As the road will divide Bukit Brown into two segments, LTA should look into building a connecter to allow wildlife to move between the two areas,' he said.

He added that the likelihood of roadkill should be minimised with fencing or other means to discourage animals from crossing the road.

The impact of noise on the animals in the area should also be looked into, he said.

The LTA said it was working with the various agencies to preserve, identify and document the key heritage elements of the cemetery.

MARIA ALMENOAR