JURONG TOWN (Measures against earth spilling on roads)

Mr Ho Kah Leong asked the Minister for Health what measures are being taken by the Public Health Department against the spilling of earth on the roads from earth-carrying lorries in Jurong Town.

The Minister for Health (Mr Chua Sian Chin): Mr Speaker, Sir, there are at present two big projects carrying on in Jurong Town. It is estimated that about 5,000 trips are made by earth-carrying lorries per day. The Ministry of Health has requested the contractors of these two projects to take certain preventive measures to minimise the spilling of earth on the roads from the earth-carrying lorries, such as raising the sides of the lorries, laying of planks, timber and perforated steel sheets along the path taken by the lorries within the earth movement sites, removing of the earth from the wheels before the lorries are allowed on to the roads, and reducing the speed at which the earth-carrying lorries move, especially at the circuses.

In addition to these preventive measures, the contractors were asked to deploy men and equipment to clean up the roads and remove any earth spilt from the earth-carrying lorries. It must be appreciated that in such big earth moving projects, some earth spillage on to the roads is inevitable. However, action will be taken by the Ministry of Health against the contractors if they fail to take adequate preventive measures to minimise the nuisance caused by the spilling over of from the earth-carrying lorries.

2.50 p.m.