Sengkang West Road

Construction
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will extend the existing Sengkang West Way from Jalan Kayu to Sengkang West Road. The existing stretch of Sengkang West Way between Jalan Kayu and Fernvale Road is a dual-three lane road which provides motorists from the Sengkang and Jalan Kayu areas with connectivity to the expressway network via Jalan Kayu. The proposed road extension is part of the road network enhancement plan to support upcoming developments in this region, such as redevelopment of the Seletar Aerospace Park.

In 2013, LTA completed the stretch of Sengkang West Road between Yio Chu Kang Road and Sengkang West Avenue, and the stretch of Sengkang West Way between Jalan Kayu and Fernvale Road. By 3rd quarter of 2014, a new interchange, consisting of a dual 3-lane flyover (Seletar Aerospace Flyover) across Tampines Expressway (TPE), will connect to the CTE/ SLE/ TPE and Jalan Kayu.

Works for the extension of Sengkang West Way will commence in 3rd quarter of 2015. The contractor engaged by LTA will erect temporary barriers where possible to minimise noise and any inconvenience to residents and occupants living or working in close proximity to the works.

To facilitate the road works, the Government will need to acquire the Esso Petrol Station at 215 Jalan Kayu under the Land Acquisition Act. The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has gazetted the land affected by the acquisition today.

Names
They should be named Jalan Kayu Grove or Jalan Kayu Avenue to better reflect area's heritage.

Mr Hwang Soo Jin, MP of Jalan Kayu from 1968 to 1984, agrees. "This will provide continuity to the historic road. The name change will reduce the significance of Jalan Kayu and blur public memories of the interesting historical background of the area."

Carved out in the 1920s by British civil engineers from the Royal Air Force, the road was the only track that led to the force's air base in Seletar. It also bore witness to the changes the area went through - from the pig farms that dotted its surroundings up till the 1970s to the vegetable farms, florists and ornamental fish farms that sprung up a decade later.

In response, an LTA spokesman said the area near the new lanes, west of Sungei-Punggol, had earlier been identified as Sengkang West Town.

The names of all new roads within the area were thus based on the township. "This would be geographically consistent and gives a clearer indication of the location," he said.

They were also approved by the Street and Building Names Board in 2009, he added.

Urban historian Lai Chee Kien said consideration should also be given to the toponymic system used in the 19th century for northern Singapore, where rivers and their watersheds were used to determine place and street names on land between the rivers.

Under this system, Jalan Kayu is between the Seletar and Punggol rivers, so north-south roads west of Jalan Kayu, like the proposed Sengkang West Road, should in theory not bear the name Sengkang as it is closer to Seletar.

Seletar Hills Estate Residents' Association chairman Percival Jeyapal said residents should have been asked. It represents 500 households and 3,000 residents.

"We woke up one morning and realised the roads had changed," he said.

Completion
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has completed a stretch of Sengkang West Road and will realign Jalan Kayu (between Sengkang West Ave and Yio Chu Kang Road) to the new Sengkang West Road on Sunday, 13 October 2013.

The construction of Sengkang West Road is part of the road interchange for the Seletar Aerospace Park and future Sengkang Industrial Estate, as the existing Jalan Kayu cannot support the traffic demands from these future developments. Its alignment is planned to connect it to Seletar Aerospace Flyover and Yio Chu Kang Road. This alignment has taken into consideration URA and JTC’s developmental plans and to optimise the land use at Sengkang West. With these changes, part of Jalan Kayu and a stretch of Fernvale lane will be realigned to connect to Sengkang West Road.

Motorists travelling to and fro from Yio Chu Kang Road to Jalan Kayu will need to travel along Sengkang West Road and Sengkang West Ave.

Motorists from Yio Chu Kang Road to Fernvale Lane will have to travel along Sengkang West Road and Sengkang West Ave instead of turning right from Sengkang West Road to Fernvale Lane. The right turn lane at the junction of Sengkang West Road and Fernvale Lane is reserved only for Public Bus Service No.163.

All existing bus services will be retained and will not be affected. New bus shelters are located at Sengkang West Road and Sengkang West Ave for these bus services.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will open a new section of Sengkang West Way between Jalan Kayu and Sengkang West Road at 6am on Sunday, 14 May 2017.

The proposed extension of Sengkang West Way between Jalan Kayu and Sengkang West Road is part of the planned road network system to improve connectivity between Sengkang West area and Tampines Expressway (TPE). From 14 May 2017, motorists will be able to travel to Sengkang West Road directly from Jalan Kayu and vice versa.