TIONG BAHRU ROAD (Conversion into dual carriage-way)

Mr Lee Teck Him asked the Minister for Law and National Development when work will commence on the proposed conversion of Tiong Bahru Road into a dual carriage-way.

Mr Barker: Mr Speaker, Sir, Tiong Bahru Road is currently a secondary distributor road and the proposal to convert this road into a dual carriageway is basically a long-term planning consideration. At present, it is not justifiable to widen this road into a dual carriage-way because of space limitation and because other roads in the network, like Outram Road, have not been widened. To widen Tiong Bahru Road alone will not serve any general purpose in easing the flow of traffic.

However, the Member will be pleased to know that the Government is now undertaking a comprehensive study of the road network system for the whole of Singapore. Until such time when the overall position is assessed, it is not possible to justify the need to widen Tiong Bahru Road into a dual carriageway. However, it is anticipated that this road will be widened within the next five years but, of course, not into a dual carriage-way.