CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY (Improvement of traffic flow)

Mr R. Sinnakaruppan asked the Minister for Communications and Information Technology (a) what are the reasons for the regular traffic jams along the Central Expressway between the Kampong Java tunnel and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 exit in the evening peak hours and between 9.30 pm and 11 pm; and (b) what measures his Ministry will take to address the problem, without resorting to evening electronic road pricing charges.

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang asked the Minister for Communications and Information Technology whether the Ministry has any plans to improve the traffic flow at the Central Expressway before 2006 when the Kallang/Paya Lebar Expressway is expected to be completed.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications and Information Technology (Assoc. Prof. Yaacob Ibrahim) (for the Minister for Communications and Information Technology): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to take Question Nos. 14 and 15 together?

Mr Speaker: Yes.

Assoc. Prof. Yaacob Ibrahim: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Central Expressway (CTE) is the main expressway serving residents in the north (such as Ang Mo Kio and Yishun) and the northeast (such as Hougang and Sengkang). Therefore, many vehicles use it to get to the city during the morning peak hours and to return from the city during the evening peak hours as well as in the late evenings. This is the reason for the traffic jams along it.

Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) along the CTE spreads out the traffic flow to the city during the morning peak hours and hence reduces congestion in the morning.

To improve the traffic situation along the CTE, the Land Transport Authority has embarked on three major road projects.

The first is the improvement to Upper Serangoon Road, which includes a second level viaduct between Upper Aljunied Road and Upper Paya Lebar Road and the extension of the road to Sengkang. When completed in early 2002, Upper Serangoon Road will be an attractive route to and from Hougang and Sengkang and will help divert some of the vehicles away from CTE.

The second is the improvement to the CTE-Braddell Road junction. It will be completed by the end of 2002. Today, vehicles queue back from this junction into the CTE and slow down traffic along the expressway. When this three level interchange is completed, there will be a faster clearance of the large number of vehicles exiting from CTE to Braddell Road through the slip road.

The third is the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway connecting the East Coast Parkway to the Tampines Expressway. Construction work will start soon and will be completed by 2006. This expressway will serve the northeast of the island and will divert more traffic particularly to/from Hougang and Sengkang away from the CTE.

The North East MRT Line, now under construction, will link the north east sector (which includes Punggol, Sengkang and Hougang) with the city. It will provide a convenient alternative to driving and will relieve peak period traffic conditions along the CTE when completed by the end of 2002.

So these three road projects and the North East MRT Line, when completed, will each help to relieve the traffic congestion along the CTE.

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang: Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary whether the Ministry will consider to further widen certain portions of the CTE so as to increase the traffic flow and, at the same time, do a study on the exit points along the whole CTE to reduce the bottleneck situation?

Assoc. Prof. Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, we do have a road expansion programme, but we have to study the CTE carefully because the CTE is going through a very built-up area. So the opportunities for us to expand will be very limited. But certainly that is an option that will be studied and, in fact, has been studied in some instances.

With regard to the exits, LTA has studied them because this is part of the whole process of trying to provide the alternative routes. Hence, they studied traffic exiting at Braddell and the impact of Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway. LTA would study the exits very carefully in order to take into account what sort of traffic volumes we are experiencing and how the alternatives will help to relieve the traffic volume along the CTE. 1.53 pm