Road marking becomes butt of jokes

The small apostrophe (above) made the road marking a source of mirth to motorists last Friday. The marking has since been painted over to read “Nicoll H’way”. PHOTOS: THE MONITOR SG FACEBOOK, LIM YAOHUI
The small apostrophe made the road marking a source of mirth to motorists last Friday. The marking has since been painted over to read “Nicoll H’way”. PHOTOS: THE MONITOR SG FACEBOOK, LIM YAOHUI

While most motorists look out for road markings for directions, an unusual one along Sims Way drew attention for all the wrong reasons.

The marking, which read "Nicoll U'pass", indicated the entrance of a new underpass linking the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) with Nicoll Highway. However, the apostrophe separating the letters "U" and "P" was relatively small compared to the letters - leaving some motorists to read it as "Up ass" instead.

A photo of the marking posted on the Facebook page of The Monitor SG website last Friday received more than 400 shares, drawing laughter from netizens.

"So much for the myth that Singapore is a conservative society," read one comment.

Mr Mohammed Farhan was driving past the area on Friday with his wife when they spotted it. "She had to do a double take when she saw it," said the 35- year-old commercial artist.

When The Straits Times visited the site yesterday, the road marking had been painted over to read "Nicoll H'way" instead.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said these were temporary markings and that they have been updated and replaced with new markings as motorists have become more familiar with the new road network.

Aimed at easing traffic congestion at the KPE's original Nicoll Highway exit, the $45 million underpass was completed last December. But its opening was delayed to minimise disruption to motorists, LTA said. It eventually opened on April 2.

Motorists coming from the KPE and Sims Way can use the two-lane, 300m underpass to head towards Nicoll Highway or Stadium Drive.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 11, 2017, with the headline Road marking becomes butt of jokes. Subscribe