Fallen tree along Pipit Road in MacPherson causes buses to be diverted

SINGAPORE – A tree along Pipit Road in MacPherson fell early on the morning of Feb 18, causing the two-lane road to be blocked for hours.

In a Facebook post at 9.58am, Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC MP Tin Pei Ling confirmed that no one was injured, nor were any cars damaged. She thanked the police and town council workers who were on site to help manage traffic and pedestrians.

The Marine Parade-Braddell Heights Town Council handles such matters for the area.

She added that the town council had called a team from a horticulture contractor to clear the tree, which was last checked and certified to be healthy by the contractor in November 2025.

Ms Tin said that she has asked the specialists to investigate the cause of the fall and to check all the trees in the area again.

“Thankfully, no person (was hurt) or vehicle was damaged,” she said, noting that bus services were affected at that time.

In response to The Straits Times’ queries, a town council spokesman said on Feb 20 that it was alerted to the incident at about 8am.

The branches that were obstructing the road were removed within an hour and the full removal of the tree was completed on the same day, he said.

The spokesman added that the rain tree was inspected in September and November 2025 under its scheduled tree management programme.

“At the time of inspection and based on an initial ground assessment, the tree had healthy branches and foliage, with no visible signs of decay or structural instability,” he said.

A horticulture contractor and arborist are checking the health and condition of the other trees in the vicinity, he said, adding that the town council will carry out the necessary works as recommended.

The town council will also work closely with the relevant agencies to carry out repairs to any affected areas.

In photos shared by Ms Tin, the road is cordoned off where the trunk of the large tree appears to have snapped at the base. In one photo, a sign can be seen on both sides of the road alerting motorists to the presence of elderly people. One of the signs seems to be dented.

In a Reddit post at 8am, a user published a photo showing a large tree sprawled across the road, blocking both incoming and outgoing traffic.

Bus services had to be diverted due to the incident.

In a post on social media platform X at 8.25am, SBS Transit said that bus services 40, 63/63M, 65, 135, 154, 155 and 158 were being diverted from Paya Lebar Road, Circuit Link, Circuit Road, Mattar Road and Aljunied Road, skipping 12 bus stops due to the fallen tree.

Affected bus services under SMRT also showed a diversion notice on mobile apps.

By around 10.20am, all bus services were running normally.

When The Straits Times arrived at the scene, workers could be seen removing parts of the fallen tree along the road between Block 92 and Block 54 Pipit Road. The branches of the tree were also being cut.

At around 10am, one lane of the road was opened to traffic and workers were slowly loading pieces of the tree into a lorry for removal.

According to one of the contractors called in to move and cut the fallen tree, the tree had toppled at around 8am. He arrived at 8.30am.

“There was a bus that could not pass through the road due to the fallen tree and was stuck for around 1½ hours before it could pass at around 10am,” said the contractor, who declined to be named.

He added that the traffic police had already blocked entry from the highway into Pipit Road by the time he arrived, with motorists being diverted to turn left into Paya Lebar Road and then Circuit Link.

There was hardly a traffic jam or any confusion, he noted.

The contractor said that only a lighting pole and a temporary structure used to hang lanterns were damaged.

The Straits Times has contacted the Land Transport Authority for more information.