Parts of Lornie Road affected by oil spill now open to traffic

Workers conducting clean-up operations on the oil spill along Lornie Road. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
Workers conducting clean-up operations on the oil spill along Lornie Road. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
Workers conducting clean-up operations on the oil spill along Lornie Road. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
A worker testing the machinery used for cleaning oil spills. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
The oil spill on Lornie Road towards Adam Road. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
The oil spill caused severe traffic congestion stretching back to the Woodleigh Underpass. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
A dark trail caused by the oil spill seen along Lornie Road. ST PHOTO: DOMINIC TEO
An oil spill causes a massive traffic jam towards the direction of Lornie Road on Tuesday (Feb 16) morning. ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
The police controlling traffic at the entrance to the Toa Payoh North flyover. ST PHOTO: LEE MIN KOK

SINGAPORE - Two stretches along Lornie Road which were closed to traffic because of an oil spill on Tuesday (Feb 16) morning have been resurfaced.

The first affected stretch between Andrew Road and Wallace Way was reopened at 12.30pm while the second stretch along the up-ramp from Braddell Road to the viaduct was reopened at 4.30pm, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in an update.

"LTA has completed the washing and resurfacing works at two stretches of roads along Lornie Road. The left-most lanes at the two stretches were earlier closed due to an oil spill caused by a broken down crane," said an LTA spokesman.

LTA also deployed a water-blasting machine to assist in clearing the oil spill after NEA has completed their cleaning works, the spokesman added.

The oil spill on Lornie Road towards Adam Road had caused a major traffic jam on Tuesday morning.

The spill was caused by a broken-down vehicle, the LTA said in a tweet at 7.45am, adding that the left-most lane of the road had been closed temporarily.

The Straits Times understands that the vehicle was a mobile crane which had leaked hydraulic oil.

LTA also advised motorists to use the Central Expressway or Upper Serangoon Road as an alternative route.

In a tweet at 8.37am, SBS Transit said bus services 74, 93, 157 and 165 will skip 8 bus stops along Thomson, Lornie and Adam Roads.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the incident at around 4.15am.

Two fire engines were dispatched to the scene to assist in clearing the spill, a SCDF spokesman added. They left at 7.45am when SCDF assistance was no longer required.

LTA had first tweeted at about 5am saying that there was an obstacle on Lornie Road (towards Queensway) after the MacRitchie viaduct. Road users were told to avoid the left lane.

At about 7am, LTA said that the road was congested until Woodleigh Underpass.

The police first tweeted at about 7.10am, informing social media users of the oil spillage. In an update at 7.42am, it advised motorists to avoid Lornie Road.

This is the fourth oil spill in recent weeks, following a spate of similar incidents on the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE), Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) and Kampong Bahru Road between Jan 29 and Feb 2.

All three required resurfacing, causing road closures and, in the case of the BKE oil spill, traffic congestion of up to 12 hours.

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