New roads at Marina Bay area

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New roads at Marina Bay area to facilitate construction of IR

SINGAPORE : A new road system will be rolled out later this month to help divert heavy vehicles away from the Central Business District (CBD).

This includes a new entrance to the ECP, which will be opened on Saturday.

It is the beginning of changes that will facilitate construction work in the Marina Bay area, home to the new Integrated Resort and financial centre.

The number of heavy vehicles on the roads leading to Marina Bay is expected to increase, as a result of the developments in Marina Bay area over the next three years.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) predicts that at the height of the construction period, about 5,000 trips are required daily, to transport construction material to and from the project sites.

And with a proposed staging ground located further south for the loading and unloading of construction waste and materials, more heavy vehicles are expected to use the roads.

So the LTA is putting in place a new road system to help divert heavy vehicles away from the city, and manage the flow of traffic into the Marina Bay areas.

Chuai Chip Tiong, Deputy Director, Road Infrastructure Management, Land Transport Authority, explained, "The general sense that we have from (the) public is that they find the vehicles imposing, they find that the vehicles increase the potential hazard.

"We are building this new road system, whereby we provide direct access between ECP and Marina Bay area. This will allow the construction traffic to take a direct route into Marina Bay area using ECP without having to go into the city roads."

Work on the new system is already taking place.

On Saturday, a new entrance to the ECP will be opened.

This will cut the travel time from Marina South to the western parts of Singapore.

The LTA expects this direct route to shorten travelling time by 6 to 8 minutes.

And in the coming weekends, motorists can also expect other changes.

By May 12, Marina Station Road and the existing slip road into the east-bound ECP will be realigned.

This is to allow a new exit on the ECP to Marina Station Road, leading to Marina South, to be opened.

Motorists can use this new exit next Saturday.

On the same day, a road linking Marina Station Road to the Integrated Resort site will also be opened.

And from May 31, two new roads - Central Boulevard and Marina Boulevard - will give motorists better access to the area.

A new ERP gantry will be set up on Central Boulevard, leading into the CBD.

One section of Marina Station Road will be opened for two-way traffic, while an existing underpass from Marina Street to the east-bound ECP will be closed.

But LTA says these roads are only temporary.

Most of them will be replaced by a permanent road system by the year 2012.

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Opening In May: New Road System In Marina Bay Area

LTA has constructed a new road system to provide direct access from ECP into and out of the Marina Bay Area. This will facilitate traffic flow for construction activities in the area, such as the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort and the new Marina Bay Financial Centre developments. With this new road system these vehicles will not need to access the Marina Bay Area via the city roads, thus minimising adverse impact on city traffic and keeping city roads free of construction debris.

The new road system will be opened in 3 phases to enable LTA to construct the new access roads. It will be fully opened by end of May 2007.

DETAILS OF THE PHASE-OPENING:

Phase 1 A & B

Under phase 1A, the existing exit to Marina South from ECP (AYE bound) has been shifted and opened on 28 April 2007. Phase 1 B, a new exit from Marina South into ECP (AYE bound) will be opened on 5 May 2007.

Benefits:

With this new exit, motorists who want to head west from Marina South can use this direct access to ECP (towards AYE bound) instead of driving to Fort Road to make a "U-turn" to head towards ECP (AYE bound). This will shave off about 6 to 8 minutes of journey time and a reduction of about 8 km of distance travelled for motorists.

Phase 2 A & B

Under phase 2 A, Marina Station Road will be re-aligned on 5 May 2007 while the existing Maxwell Road slip road into ECP will be realigned under phase 2 B on 12 May 2007.

Phase 3A:

Under phase 3 A, a new exit No. 17 from ECP (Changi bound) into Marina Station Road will be opened on 19 May 2007. The link road to serve IR will also be opened for use on the same day.

Benefits:

With this new exit, heavy construction vehicles coming from the west will have direct access into the Marina Bay Area from ECP without the need to enter CBD via Anson Road and Maxwell Road.

Phase 3B:

In phase 3 B, Central and Marina Boulevard will be opened to traffic on 31 May 2007. At the same time, existing Marina Station Road between Marina Street and Central Boulevard will also be converted into 2-way flow.

Benefits:

The opening of the New Road System will provide direct access for construction vehicles to enter or exit the Marina Bay Area, thus keeping construction traffic away from the CBD area. This will minimize adverse impact on city traffic, especially during peak hours.

It is projected that more than 21 million tonnes of construction material will be transported as a result of the developments in Marina Bay Area over the next three years. At the height of construction, about 5,000 trips is required daily to transport the material that consists of aggregate, sand and excavated spoils for the construction projects.

With this new road network, heavy construction vehicles will not need to use city roads and signs will be placed to alert them not to enter the city area.

By 2012, part of this new road system will be gradually replaced by the permanent road system under the Master Plan 2003.

ERP GANTRY TO BE SET UP ALONG CENTRAL BOULEVARD TO CLOSE OFF CBD CORDON

To maintain the CBD ERP cordon, the ERP gantry at Central Boulevard near its junction with Raffles Quay, will be operational once the Central Boulevard is opened to traffic on 31 May 2007, as part of the new road system at Marina Bay Area. Motorists using Central Boulevard to enter the CBD via Raffles Quay, will continue to be charged for entering the CBD ERP cordon, as before, and at the same rates.