9 HDB blocks acquired for Checkpoint expansion

The Woodlands Checkpoint will be expanded to meet future traffic demand, and nine Housing Board blocks nearby will be acquired to make way for the massive redevelopment.

Blocks 210 to 218 in Marsiling Crescent and Marsiling Lane will be acquired, affecting 732 sold flats, 53 rental flats, one rental kiosk, six rental shops and one rental eating house, said HDB.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), which announced updated plans for the checkpoint yesterday, said the expansion will address traffic congestion and meet a projected 40 per cent increase in volumes by 2050.

In 2017, ICA had said that the land checkpoint would be expanded to take in the Old Woodlands Town Centre.

The checkpoint has to be extended beyond the Old Woodlands Town Centre, ICA said yesterday, noting that traffic volume has returned to more than 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels during weekends with the full reopening of land borders since April 1.

Traffic volume is expected to return to the daily average of 300,000 travellers soon, and will continue to increase thereafter to about 400,000 travellers a day by 2050, it added.

"If the overall capacity is not increased, the travel time for vehicular traffic could increase by more than 60 per cent to 70 per cent during peak periods by 2050," ICA said.

In a media briefing, ICA's deputy commissioner Hsu Sin Yun said the expansion is meant to reduce peak-hour clearance time from 60 minutes in pre-pandemic times to 15 minutes in future, even with the projected increase in traffic.

He added that the expansion will be rolled out in phases, and be completed in 10 to 15 years' time.

The first phase will involve additional clearance lanes for lorries and motorcycles.

Subsequent extensions - including the eastern part of the current checkpoint - will cover other vehicles such as cars and buses, he said, adding that a detailed plan for the project is being developed.

An ICA spokesman said measures will be put in place to ensure there is minimal disruption to checkpoint operations when expansion works are under way.

HDB said flat owners at Blocks 212 to 218 will be offered the same benefits as those under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers), including compensation based on the market value of their flats and the option to buy a new flat with a fresh 99-year lease. Blocks 210 and 211 are rental flats.

Residents will have to move out by the second quarter of 2028.

About 1,100 replacement flats will be built in Woodlands Street 13. Construction will begin in the third quarter of next year and should be completed by the fourth quarter of 2027.

HDB said the flats will be offered to affected owners first, and the rest will be available in future Sale of Balance Flat exercises.

A study is ongoing to come up with an optimal design to clear heavy goods vehicles and motorcycles at the checkpoint, ICA said.

As part of the expansion, the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) will be extended and upgraded to channel traffic directly to and from the Old Woodlands Town Centre extension.

The surrounding local road network will also be upgraded, it said.

ICA said the expansion is meant to provide adequate holding areas to contain traffic within the checkpoint, and reduce spillage to surrounding roads.

The extension also aims to significantly reduce travel time - in some cases it may fall to just a fourth of what it was - by incorporating greater automation and flexi-lanes that can be toggled to clear either cars or motorcycles.

It will also allow vehicle checks to be conducted in an area away from the main parts of the checkpoint, in a move to minimise potential damage to nearby developments in the event of vehicle bombings.