River Valley shophouse pillar damaged after being struck by reversing garbage truck

SINGAPORE – One of the pillars at a shophouse in River Valley was damaged after it was struck by a reversing garbage truck on the morning of July 15.

A spokeswoman for Park Avenue Hospitality, which operates the Park Avenue Robertson serviced apartments at 80 Kim Yam Road, said the incident happened at around 9.40am.

She added that the authorities were notified, and that measures were taken to buttress the support for the affected column, which was also cordoned off immediately after the accident.

On its website, Park Avenue describes its serviced apartments in Kim Yam Road as a “well-preserved pre-war shophouse”.

In response to The Straits Times’ queries, a Building and Construction Authority (BCA) spokesperson said that its engineer conducted a site inspection at the two-storey conserved building.

The affected unit is currently unoccupied, the spokesperson added.

The authority said the professional engineer appointed by the building owner found no immediate safety concerns.

“As a precautionary measure and under the supervision of the professional engineer, the building owner has installed temporary support structures, and access to the affected area has been restricted,” the spokesperson said.

BCA has also instructed the building owner to carry out permanent rectification works to restore the affected brick pillar.

When ST visited the scene on July 16, scaffolding had been erected around the damaged pillar.

In dashcam footage of the accident posted on the Roads.sg Facebook page, a red garbage truck bearing the company name Boon Poh can be seen attempting to reverse into a lane off Kim Yam Road.

The garbage truck makes a few adjustment manoeuvres before it strikes a pillar, causing part of it to collapse.

The Straits Times has contacted Boon Poh for more information.