PIE uncompleted highway structure collapse: Temporary road being built to facilitate traffic

The collapsed section of a viaduct under construction causing the closure of the slip road from Upper Changi Road East to PIE (Changi Airport) on July 14, 2017. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

SINGAPORE - A temporary bypass road is being constructed to provide access for motorists headed eastwards along Upper Changi Road East to Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) Changi.

This road is expected to be open on Saturday (July 15), said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a Facebook post on Friday night.

LTA said that it will carry out a thorough safety and design review of the temporary road before opening it for public use by noon on Saturday.

In the meantime, motorists can make a U-turn at Upper Changi Road East and Loyang Avenue junction, and enter the PIE from the west direction.

This move comes after a work site accident early on Friday morning that left one China-born worker dead and eight hospitalised. Two other injured workers who were taken to hospital have since been discharged.

Recovery works for the slip-road affected by the accident, which stretches from Upper Changi Road East to PIE (Changi), are estimated to take about two days, before it can be re-opened, said LTA.

Bus service 24 is also affected by the slip-road closure. More buses have been added to minimise inconvenience, it added.

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said in a statement that the adjacent girders will be propped and supported, while an inspection of remaining supporting structures is being carried out.

"We noted that the rest of the constructed viaducts are not above any public roads and will not pose a threat to the public," said BCA.

LTA's safety investigations into the cause of the accident are ongoing. Among the 10 men injured, six are from Bangladesh, three are from China and one from India.

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