Northbound lanes of Lornie Highway to open on 19 April
The northbound lanes of the Lornie Highway – from Adam Road towards Thomson – will be accessible to motorists from 19 April, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a media release on Tuesday (19 March).
The southbound stretch towards Farrer Road have been open since October 2018.
The highway project was first announced in 2011. Then, it was known as Bukit Brown Road, and was originally scheduled to be completed by mid-2016, but ran into delays.
It ran into controversy soon after its announcement, as protests were mounted by nature and heritage groups because the proposed highway would cut through swathes of forested area as well as the historical Bukit Brown Cemetery. More than 3,000 graves were exhumed from the cemetery for the highway.
The dual four-lane highway will cater to traffic growth arising from redevelopment of the Bukit Brown area, as traffic is projected to increase by 20 to 30 per cent by 2020. It is also aimed at easing congestion along Lornie Road and the Pan Island Expressway (PIE), where there are regular traffic jams during peak hours.
Two underpasses to open on same date
Two other vehicle underpasses along the highway will also be opened to traffic on 19 April.
The Sime Underpass will connect the southbound Lornie Road to Lornie Highway and Kheam Hock Road. With this direct connection, the temporary road connection from Sime Road and the signalised junction along the southbound Lornie Highway will be removed.
Meanwhile, the Adam Underpass will connect motorists from the eastbound lanes of PIE to the northbound lanes of Lornie Highway.
A new bus stop will be built along a new access road to Sime Road estate with the opening of the northbound Lornie Highway. Five of the seven bus services – 52, 74, 93, 852, 855 – currently plying Lornie Road will shift to the Lornie Highway once the bus stop is ready. The LTA said that the changes to the bus routes are expected to be ready by the third quarter of 2019.
Opening of two new TPE slip roads serving Punggol
The LTA also announced on Tuesday the opening dates of two new slip roads serving the Punggol housing estate.
On 30 March at 3am, a new slip road from the westbound Tampines Expressway (TPE) to Halus Link towards Lorong Halus and Punggol Central will open to traffic. This will give motorists an alternative route to Punggol Central, in addition to existing routes via Punggol Road and Punggol Way, and is expected to alleviate the evening peak traffic.
Another new slip road, on the eastbound TPE to Halus Link, will open by June this year, giving motorists an alternative route to Punggol Central.
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