Roadworks around PIE exit to Lornie Highway to continue till Q4 2022

SINGAPORE - Motorists taking the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) exit to Lornie Highway during off-peak hours will face a single-lane road closure in the coming months.

This is to allow a new contractor to finish up remaining works on the road project.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) told The Straits Times that the works, which come just two years after Lornie Highway's opening, had been delayed owing to financial issues faced by the previous contractor.

These final completion and rectification works - involving the reinstatement of the concrete road and kerb surfaces, as well as roadside drain connection and water drainage works - are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of next year.

LTA said the previous contractor, Swee Hong, was liquidated in September last year.

"Given the impact of Covid-19 on the construction industry, more time was needed to appoint another contractor for the project," said LTA.

In May, it appointed another contractor, Megastone Holdings, to undertake the remaining works for the project.

LTA added that works around the Lornie exit and Lornie Road are carried out only during off-peak periods with single-lane road closures.

"Based on our observations, travelling time has not been affected."

The first phase of Lornie Highway, previously known as the Bukit Brown Road, opened on Oct 28, 2018, after repeated delays.

It was fully opened on April 19, 2019, with the northbound stretch from Adam and Farrer roads towards Thomson.

Lornie Highway is meant to cater to increasing traffic demand when the Bukit Brown area is developed into a housing estate from 2030.

National University of Singapore transport infrastructure expert Raymond Ong said the overall amount of time needed for the final touches is longer as only one lane can be closed at a time, with works limited to off-peak hours.

During those hours, workers will have to prepare equipment and also reinstate the site condition for traffic operations, added Dr Ong.

Mr Kelvin Foo, managing director of traffic and transport consultancy TTS Group, said that at the current level of traffic, the lane closure during off-peak hours is not expected to lead to serious road congestion.

Mr Foo, whose company had previously worked on Lornie Highway, noted that Covid-19 restrictions have generally led to a fall in road traffic across Singapore.

For example, the switch to working from home and smaller group sizes have contributed to fewer vehicles on the roads.

But traffic will increase as Singapore eases its default work-from-home stance on Jan 1, with 50 per cent of staff who have been working from home allowed to return to the office, he said.

Mr Foo added that it would be ideal for the contractor to thoroughly assess the safety risk, the urgency of works required and the impact on live traffic, even as the project continues.

"Thus, close monitoring is also required on the ongoing works to make sure measures are in place to make everything function as normal."