CONSTRUCTION OF NORTH-SOUTH EXPRESSWAY

CONSTRUCTION OF NORTH-SOUTH EXPRESSWAY: 5.

Er Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Transport with the building of the North-South Expressway (NSE) in highly urbanised areas (a) what are the considerations taken to minimise the impact of noise levels on residents when the NSE is in operation; (b) why certain

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segments of the NSE are not designed as a full tunnel; and (c) what is the total cost of the project and duration of the construction.

The Minister for Transport (Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat): Mr Speaker, the North-South Expressway (NSE) is a major road project that will provide a high speed road link to the city centre from residential estates such as Woodlands, Sembawang, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh. Many residents will directly benefit from the NSE as travel time to the city is expected to be reduced by up to 30% after its opening. Without the NSE, congestion on major roads along the North-South corridor, such as the CTE and Thomson Road, will build up with the expected future growth in households living in the North. We estimate that the entire NSE project will cost between $7 billion and $8 billion, and that construction will take about six to seven years.

The Government proceeded with the NSE project only after careful planning and deliberation. We considered various factors, including the need to minimise land acquisition and land take, and to mitigate the potential disamenities that could result from the project. We also strived to adopt the most cost-effective solutions available.

As far as possible, LTA has designed the NSE as a full tunnel in the highly urbanised areas. However, this is not always feasible. The NSE was designed as a semi-tunnel between the SLE and south of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 9, and between Sin Ming Avenue and north of Pemimpin Place after careful consideration. In order for these stretches to be full tunnels, more land would be needed for ventilation buildings. These are large buildings, each requiring around 15,000 square metres of land. They have to be sited close to the tunnel, and at certain intervals to fulfil ventilation requirements.

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The possible sites for these ventilation buildings such as the undeveloped land around Lentor Avenue and Yio Chu Kang Road are encumbered by the existing MRT viaduct or currently form part of MINDEF’s training ground, or are close to Yio Chu Kang MRT Station where the land has been set aside for high-density residential use. To place a ventilation building on any of these sites would put at risk the operations of a live MRT line or impede training for our national defence, or constrain our ability to have more homes in close proximity to the Yio Chu Kang MRT Station. In addition, a ventilation building in the vicinity of Bishan Park would also be required. However, this would adversely affect PUB’s Active, Beautiful and Clean (ABC) upgrading programme at the heavily-used park.

I hope Members will understand that some difficult decisions had to be taken in order to bring about a major road project like the NSE. The Government had to decide on an alignment and expressway design that takes into consideration the competing land uses while still meeting its intended purpose.

We recognise that some premise owners and residents may have concerns with noise from the NSE. Let me assure Members that, regardless of the configuration, LTA will ensure that the NSE will comply with NEA’s standards for road traffic noise when the NSE is in operation. LTA will conduct a detailed engineering study and implement appropriate mitigation measures wherever necessary. Possible measures include dense planting, the use of porous asphalt on the road surface, and design features such as shaped screens at the openings of the semi-tunnels to reflect traffic noise away from residents as much as possible.

Er Lee Bee Wah: Sir, I would like to thank the Minister for the comprehensive

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answer. I have four supplementary questions. Since the announcement of the NSE, I have been receiving overwhelming feedback from my residents from three condominium developments. Due to the overwhelming feedback from the affected residents, I would like to ask the Minister whether he would consider converting the semi-tunnels that are close to the residential area to full tunnels. The second question: how sure is the Minister that the noise mitigation measures just mentioned, for example, the planting, porous asphalt and shaped screens, will work? The third question: how long will LTA take to conclude the details of these noise-mitigation measures studies? Lastly, the six to seven years of construction period is very long for the affected residents. Can the Minister look into phased completion, that is, to get the contractor to finish the stretch near to the residents in a shorter duration?

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: First, I would like to thank the Member. I know the Member has been working hard and bringing the concerns of the residents to the LTA. LTA has found this very useful, and I think the Member's decision to form a working committee in her constituency to look into this matter is a good one. The Member has my assurance that LTA will work very closely with her on how best to address these concerns.

Let me now take the Member's four supplementary questions. On the issue of whether we could convert the semi-tunnel to a closed tunnel, I have explained in my reply why we could not do so. LTA, in the planning process, considered as one possibility a full tunnel in the affected areas. To do that, they needed to find land to put the ventilation building. The ventilation building is quite sizeable – 15,000 square metres, which is close to two-and-a-half football fields. They have to find land for that. The possible land sites had competing uses. Members know that in Singapore, our scarcest resource is

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land. So in any project that we do, we try our very best to minimise the land take. We have a Master Planning Committee, chaired by the URA Chief Planner, comprising all the land-use agencies from MINDEF to HDB. They sit whenever there is a major road project like this, looking at all these competing land uses for the land. They decide on what is the appropriate balance. In the case of a major road project, they need to balance the need to minimise the land take against the need to minimise the potential disamenities of the major road project. They went through a very rigorous process over a few years looking into these, and the road configuration they decided upon is what they feel would maximise the overall benefit for Singaporeans, as a whole, in the long term.

The Member's second question refers to the noise mitigation measures. LTA actually has considerable experience in doing these. This is not the first time that LTA, because of the compact nature of Singapore, has had to build a major road in close proximity to residential areas. They have done this before, and have been fairly successful in ensuring that it complies with the NEA's standard for road traffic noise. Those measures that I have mentioned in my reply are things that they have done before, whether it is dense planting, using porous asphalt or shaped screens to reflect the noise inwards. These are things that they have had some experience with.

Could the Member repeat the third question?

Er Lee Bee Wah: How long will LTA take to study all these measures? As I understand, they are at the studying stage. Like the shaped screens, I think there is no project that uses the shaped screens as yet.

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: They are studying it right now. They are doing the

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engineering studies and I think they will try to complete it as soon as possible and explain to the Member's residents once they are done. One of the estates in the Member's constituency – I think it is Bullion Park Condominium – came up with a suggestion on how to put the screen. LTA is looking into all of these suggestions.

Yes, the project takes six to seven years. It is a major project that goes from the North to the South. Can we complete it in phases? I think this is something that LTA can consider to see how best it can be done.