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A NEW 1.3km tunnel will be built from the Sentosa Gateway as a link to nearby roads to cope with growing traffic in the area when the integrated resort and new condominiums are completed.
This will allow outgoing traffic from Sentosa to bypass the busy cross junction of the Gateway and Telok Blangah Road.
That junction is expected to see a 60 per cent increase in traffic between 2010 and 2015 - arising mainly from the new integrated resort on Sentosa and new condominiums in the area.
Currently, about 6,000 cars use that junction during the evening peak period. That number will swell to between 9,600 and 10,800, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Friday.
When the tunnel is completed in 2015, it will start along the stretch directly between VivoCity and St. James Power Station and end along Kampong Bahru Road and Keppel Road heading east.
The LTA said that motorists who use the mainly two-lane tunnel will see a 50 per cent drop in their travel time - to under 10 minutes - for that stretch.
Travel time on surface level will also improve by 25 per cent.
The tunnel is in addition to other road works in the area which have begun since June to meet growing traffic demands.
Improvements include adding lanes on Telok Blangah Road, an extra lane for vehicles turning into the Sentosa Gateway and the widening of the Kampong Bahru Road.
These works will be completed in 2010, in time for the opening of the integrated resort on Sentosa.
LTA will start preliminary works on the tunnel, which includes laying cables, at the Sentosa Gateway area, by the end of the year.
Tunnel works proper will only begin in 2011.
LTA assured motorists that there will be minimal disruption to those heading to the area.
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