Central Expressway, Singapore

The Central Expressway (Abbreviation: CTE) in Singapore is the major highway connecting the city centre of Singapore with the northern residential parts of the island, including Toa Payoh, Bishan and Ang Mo Kio and further onwards to the Seletar Expressway and the Tampines Expressway.

As from 29 December 2013, SLE and CTE are one of the two pairs of expressways in Singapore which are linked together, the other being the KPE and MCE.

History

Before CTE was proposed, planning for the Sembawang Expressway started. Running from Nee Soon via Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, to Jalan Toa Payoh, it will then be connected to Central Expressway, which did not materialise on 27 May 1979.

The Sembawang Expressway, will be completed in 1982 to reduce traffic congestion at Toa Payoh. Further extension to Thomson Road/Norfolk Road, when completed in 1984, will also reduce traffic jams at Toa Payoh.

First Stage of Expressway

The first stage of the expressway began as separate parts, one from Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 to PIE on 31 August 1983. The extension to Thomson Road / Bukit Timah Road (Next to Cavenagh Road) was opened on 18 May 1985.

On 30 August 1986, more than 400 flats at Norfolk Road built by the Singapore Improvement Trust will make way for a new bousing estate and the Central Expressway. The first 114 flats were pulled down last month. Another 23 blocks of 332 homes will be demolished by the end of the year. The PWD had handled the first phase demolition of the CTE from Norfolk Road to Bukit Timah Road. On 16 January 1986, even used-car dealers at the Kampong Java fringe carpark have been given notice to vacate the premises by Feb 28. A Land Office spokesman said the notice was served m October because the land is required for the extension of the CTE to Lower Delta Road and the Ayer Rajah Expressway. The first half of the Central Expressway from Yio Chu Kang Road to Thomson Road, and cutting through the most populous areas, work will start on September 1986 and

On 14 January 1987, the section of the Central Expressway will be officially opened. The stretch between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Ang Ko Kio Avenue 5 will be declared open.

On 11 June 1988, travelling north from Cavenagh Road towards the Central Expressway can use the newly completed Kampong Java flyover tomorrow from 3 pm. They can get to Moulmein Road via the slip road near the Moulmein Flyover. Motorists along Norfolk Road will no longer be able. On 26 November 1988, the stretch of CTE southbound carriageway from Yio Chu Kang Road to Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 was opened. On 22 May 1986, the government had acquired another portion of Ang Mo Kio, has acquired another piece of land to make way for the Central Expressway from Ang Mo Kio to Orchard Road. An area of 21,836 square metres in Ang Mo Kio is to be acquired for the section running from Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 to Yio Chu Kang Road.

On 28 November 1988, the new slip road to city from Seletar Hills will also open. The stretch from Yio Chu Kang Road to Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 was opened on 17 June 1989, and the construction was delayed by nearly two years because of resettlement problems. The completion of the northward extension of the Central Expressway to Yio Chu Kang Road has been delayed because, among other things, an edible oil factory is standing in its way. It will be completed by the end of the year instead of March 1989.

A part of Tiong Poh Road between Peng Nguan Street and Guan Chuan Street will be permanently closed by the Public Works Department tomorrow at 10 am for the construction of the Central Expressway on 7 January 1987.

On 24 September 1988, the second stretch from Chin Swee Road in Chinatown to the Ayer Rajah Expressway in Radin Mas was opened. Work has begun on 31 January 1986.

Second Stage of Expressway

The second stage of the expressway also involved the construction of the two tunnels, the north tunnel being 700 m (766 yards) long and the south tunnel being 1.7 km (1.06 miles) long, that travel underneath previously built-up areas, including the Singapore River, Fort Canning Park and Orchard Road. This stretch was opened on 21 September 1991. A contract was signed on 23 March 1988. Construction required the acquisition of several roads and diversion on 28 September 1986 -

• The stretch of Cavenagh Road between Keng Lee Road and Bukit Timah Road (one-way street)
• The stretch of Clemenceau Avenue North between Cairnhill Road and Orchard Road
• Slight diversions of Clemenceau Avenue and Chin Swee Road to allow CTE tunnels to pass. The Chin Swee Road was diverted on 17 July 1988 northbound and the southbound traffic was diverted on 10 December 1988.

On 2 March 1988, work is starting soon for the underground highway. On 18 July 1988, work on CTE tunnel roads begins a $313 million project, to bring across the junctions of Havelock Road, Clemenceau Avenue, Upper Cross Street and Chin Swee Road with disruptions.

In addition, on 17 October 1988, Oxley Rise flyover has been closed. Vehicles coming from Fort Canning Road towards Killiney Road have to use a road diversion which crosses Clemenceau Avenue. To make things easier, road signs and traffic lights have been installed to guide motorists.

On 3 September 1989, a stretch of Clemenceau Avenue to be closed for CTE works, which involves the demolition of Clemenceau Bridge. The ALS booth at Tank Road will close on 30 November 1988 due to the construction of the Central Expressway. Motorists can get their licences from sales booths m Kirn Seng Road and Ganges Avenue.

The CTE tunnels were the only underground roads in Singapore until the Fort Canning Tunnel was opened on 16 January 2007 and the only expressway with tunnels until the second stretch of the Kallang–Paya Lebar Expressway were opened on 26 October 2007.

As it is the only expressway to connect the city and the northern residential areas, it is more prone to congestion than the other expressways in Singapore. In the latest attempt to relieve congestion, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on 27 May 2005 that with effect from 1 August 2005, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) operation hours for the CTE will be extended into the evening, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. This is the first time that evening ERP hours were introduced for a Singapore road.

A section of the CTE passes under the Singapore River, causing significant water seepage problems. Despite the LTA plugging nearly 2000 leaks and spending "millions", on 9 May 2007, chunks of concrete fell from the ceiling of the south-bound tunnel. There were no injuries.

On 24 December 2007, LTA had installed Tunnel TV at Chin Swee Tunnel which is similar to the North South Line from Newton to Orchard, and the North East Line from Dhoby Ghaut to Little India. It was switched off in October 2009, and again resurrected from November 2010 to May 2011, then it was subsequently removed. They had a few choices:

1. Place TVs in the car or bus, show ads there.
2. Create long stretches of TVs in a tunnel, giving people a split second to see said ad.
3. Print the ad.

It was too expensive to maintain since January 2012. Everybody is glued to the smartphones by now, with smart devices, mobile data and social media apps. It was using a lot of electricity, blinding as someone else mentioned and production skills. It could even broadcast emergency information as well.

In 2008, the government had provisioned the newer project, called Seletar Modification Project, which had been extending the Central Expressway from CTE, all the way until Yishun Avenue 1, which is a T-junction, crossing through the Orchid Country Club. This was later replaced by the Seletar West Link in 2012, which saw the debut appearance on 20 August 2017.

The scene of the accident that had happened in 9 August 2013 had killed Jamie Song Jisoo, her parents and her Singaporean boyfriend Amron Ayoub. The 34-year old man face charges by dangerous driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol. Amron Ayoub had suffered multiple injuries.

On 23 November 2014, Central Expressway was therefore extended from Lower Delta Road via Kampong Bahru Road, all the way to start at Sentosa Gateway and Resorts World Sentosa, which was being excited abotu the potential of having the expressway, there are only two exits at Kampong Bahru Road and Resorts World Sentosa. The tunnels are "dug at 6m".

CTE Widening

The Land Transport Authority has awarded a contract worth $16.86 million to widen the stretch of CTE between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 to Or Kim Peow Contractors Pte Ltd.

This is the first phase of the widening and improvement works to the CTE, as announced by Minister for Transport, Mr Raymond Lim earlier in January this year.

The works for this contract will involve the widening of the section of CTE between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 from the existing dual 3-lane carriageway to a dual 4-lane carriageway.

Works for this stretch will commence soon and is scheduled for completion by end 2009.

LTA will implement further widening and improvement works to the other sections of the CTE with the aim of providing 4 continuous traffic lanes between Pan Island Expressway (PIE) and Yio Chu Kang Road by end 2011.

As part of the improvement works, LTA will be looking at improving the existing connections to the CTE at Bukit Timah and PIE.

The entire widening and improvement work of the CTE is targeted for completion by end 2011.

Second Widening

The Land Transport Authority will be calling for tenders to widen another four stretches of the Central Expressway to improve traffic flow, an initiative under the Land Transport Master Plan.

Four separate tenders will be called to seek contractors to widen the stretch of the CTE between:

1. Bukit Timah Road and Moulmein Flyover
2. Pan Island Expressway and Braddell Interchange
3. Braddell Road and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1
4. Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 and Yio Chu Kang Road

ogether with the existing widening works between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, the completion of the four additional stretches will mean an uninterrupted four lane traffic scheme along CTE when completed in end 2011.

The tenders will be called shortly and works are expected to start by February 2009.

One Pair of Flyovers to be Constructed between PIE and Braddell Road

LTA will be constructing a pair of flyovers between Braddell Road and the PIE as part of the widening project to improve traffic conditions along that stretch of the CTE.

The pair of flyovers will serve as dedicated service roads for traffic connecting between the PIE and CTE. One of the flyovers will serve traffic coming from the PIE (Changi bound) and will connect to the CTE (SLE) directly, bypassing the stretch of the CTE between PIE and Braddell Road. Similarly, the other flyover serves as a dedicated service road for traffic coming from the CTE (City bound) and will connect directly to PIE (Changi bound) and Upper Serangoon Road without contributing to the traffic along the stretch between PIE and Braddell Road.

"Together with the other infrastructure developments that we have committed over the next 15 years under the Land Transport Master Plan, the completion of the CTE widening project in end 2011 will better meet the increasing travel demands of the developing North-East Corridor," said Chief Executive, LTA, Mr Yam Ah Mee.

Award of Contracts

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) today awarded four contracts as part of the project to widen the Central Expressway (CTE) (from Bukit Timah Road to Yio Chu Kang Road) to four continuous lanes to improve traffic flow.

The four contracts will involve road widening works along the following stretches of the CTE between: i. Bukit Timah Road and Moulmein Flyover (Contract ER 287)
ii. Pan Island Expressway and Braddell Interchange (Contract ER 288)
iii. Braddell Road and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 (Contract ER 285)
iv. Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 and Yio Chu Kang Road (Contract ER 286) The four new contracts awarded today are worth a total sum of $199.26 million. Contract ER288 is awarded to Or Kim Peow Contractors at $119.27 million, and the other 3 contracts, ER 285, ER 286 and ER 287 are awarded to Downer EDI Works Pte Ltd at a total contract sum of $79.99 million.

About the CTE Widening Project

Widening works for the CTE started in mid 2008 for the first stretch of the CTE between Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 and Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 and are expected to complete by 3rd quarter of 2009.

With the award of the four new contracts, LTA will commence widening works, including structure widening to 7 existing flyovers, at these other four stretches from the 2nd quarter of this year.

For the stretch of CTE between PIE and Braddell Interchange, a pair of flyovers will be constructed as part of the widening works. The pair of flyovers will serve as dedicated service roads for traffic connecting between the PIE and CTE. One of the flyovers will serve traffic coming from the PIE (Changi bound) and will connect to the CTE (SLE) directly, bypassing the stretch of the CTE between PIE and Braddell Road. Similarly, the other flyover serves as a dedicated service road for traffic coming from the CTE (City bound) and will connect directly to PIE (Changi bound) and Upper Serangoon Road without contributing to the traffic along the stretch between PIE and Braddell Road.

When the entire widening project is completed by end 2011, there will be four uninterrupted continuous lanes along the CTE (from Bukit Timah Road to Yio Chu Kang Road) to better meet the increasing travel demand of the North-East corridor.

ABOUT THE CONTRACTORS

Or Kim Peow Contractors (Pte) Ltd is a local contractor who has considerable experience in building and maintaining various road infrastructures. They are the current contractor for the ongoing widening works on CTE between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 as well as for the road widening project for Eunos Link and Jalan Eunos.

Or Kim Peow has also been involved in past road projects such as the widening of Bukit Timah Expressway and Pan Island Expressway as well as the road widening and modification works to complete the F1 circuit.

Downer EDI Works Pte Ltd is a foreign owned local contractor who also has considerable experience in building and maintaining various road infrastructures. Downer had recently completed the widening of the Seletar Expressway between Upper Thomson Road and east of Lentor Ave. They are currently also one of LTA's term contractors for adhoc road upgrading, improvement and maintenance work.

Downer EDI Works Pte Ltd has also been involved in past road projects such as the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (between Defu Lane 3 and Fish Farm Road), the widening of Telok Paku Road & Nicoll Drive and the construction of a new 1.2km road that forms the finishing straight of the F1 circuit.

Relocation of ERP Gantries

As part of the Central Expressway (CTE) widening works, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be relocating three Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries along the CTE.

These gantries will be relocated to facilitate road widening works that will be carried out in phases along the CTE. As with all other ERP relocation, the relocated gantries will only come into operation after the existing gantry has been decommissioned. Other than the physical relocation of gantries, motorists will not see any change to the ERP charges.

Northbound CTE

For the gantry along CTE (northbound) between Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) and Braddell Road, which operates from 6pm to 8pm on weekdays, it will be relocated to two locations onto the slip road from PIE into CTE (northbound) and about 300m upstream along CTE (northbound) from the current gantry.

The need to relocate the current gantry is due to a flyover parallel to the CTE that will be constructed at that location. As the relocated position of the gantry spans across the main CTE and another flyover, it will be broken up into two gantries situated alongside each other. Motorists will continue to pay the same prevailing ERP charges as they would today.

Works to install the columns for the relocated gantries will start from 19 February 2010 onwards. The switchover to the two new gantries is expected to take place by May 2010.

Relocation of Gantry along Southbound CTE

Between PIE and Braddell Road

For the gantry along CTE (southbound) between PIE and Braddell Road, it will be relocated to about 300m downstream from the current gantry. The relocation works and switchover of the gantry is expected to be completed in third quarter 2010.

Between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Braddell Road

The gantry along CTE (southbound) between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Braddell Road will be relocated to about 800m downstream from the current gantry. The relocation works and switchover is expected to be completed in end 2010. Motorists will continue to pay the same prevailing ERP charges as they would today.

Completion of Widening

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has completed the widening of the Central Expressway (CTE) between Bukit Timah Road and Yio Chu Kang Road to four continuous lanes. The construction of a pair of new flyovers that connects traffic between the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) and CTE is also completed. The new flyovers will open in phases - the flyover along CTE (City bound) will open from 3am, 3 December 2011 and the flyover along CTE (SLE bound) will open from 6am, 17 December 2011.

The completion of the flyovers marks a significant milestone in the completion of the CTE widening project. The new flyovers will provide traffic travelling between PIE and CTE with a dedicated access. This will, in turn, improve traffic conditions on the main CTE carriageway. Road works along the at-grade portion of the CTE will continue till the end of the year.

The widening project started in 2008 with the first stretch of CTE between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3. Works to widen the other stretches started from early 2009. The widened portions of the CTE have been progressively opened to traffic.

With the completion of CTE widening to four continuous lanes, the overall traffic capacity along the expressway has also increased. Motorists can look forward to a smoother travel experience and cut in expected travelling time to the city by up to 15%.

Changes to traffic scheme along CTE

To ensure a smooth transition to the new flyovers, LTA will be opening the two flyovers in phases.

The new flyover along CTE (City bound) will open from 3am, 3 December 2011. Motorists using CTE (City bound) to travel to PIE (Changi)/Upper Serangoon will need to enter the flyover via a new Exit 8B that is about 800m before the existing exit and is located just after Exit 10 into Braddell Road Junction. The existing exit 8B will be closed with the opening of the flyover.

For motorists entering the CTE (City bound) from Braddell Road to travel to PIE (Changi)/Upper Serangoon, they will need to keep left and enter the new road after they turn into the slip road leading to the main CTE.

The new flyover along CTE (SLE bound) will open from 6am, 17 December 2011. Motorists from the PIE will need to go onto the flyover to travel to CTE (SLE bound) and to Braddell Road.

Motorists exiting from CTE (SLE bound) to Braddell Road will need to exit via a new slip road (new exit 10) that is about 200m before the existing exit and located under the new flyover. The existing exit 10 will be closed with the changes in traffic scheme.

Road interchanges

No.	Northbound exit to road (destinations)	Interchange	Type	No.	Southbound exit to road (destinations)
Start of expressway		Radin Mas Flyover	Directional T	End of expressway (AYE)
1A	Jalan Bukit Merah	Bukit Merah Flyover	SPUI
1B	Chin Swee Road, Tiong Bahru Road	Outram Flyover
2	Clemenceau Avenue, Merchant Road and Havelock Road	Chin Swee Tunnel		2	Clemenceau Avenue, Merchant Road and Havelock Road
	No Exit			4	Buyong Road to Orchard Road
	No Exit			5	Cairnhill Circle
	No Exit	Kampong Java Tunnel	SPUI	6	Cavenagh Road
7A	Moulmein Road	Moulmein Flyover	Parclo		No Exit
7B	Jalan Bahagia				No Exit
	No Exit	Moulmein Flyover	Parclo	7C	Moulmein Road
	No Exit			7D	Jalan Kebun Limau
8A	PIE (Tuas)	Whampoa Flyover	Stacked Turbine	8A	PIE (Tuas)
8B	PIE (Changi Airport) Upper Serangoon Road			8B	PIE (Changi Airport) Upper Serangoon Road
10	Braddell Road	Braddell Flyover	3-Level SPUI	10	Braddell Road
11	Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1	Ang Mo Kio South Flyover	SPUI	11	Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1
12A	Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3	Ang Mo Kio Central Flyover	Diamond		No Exit
12B	Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5	Ang Mo Kio North Flyover			No Exit
	No Exit			14	Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5
15	Yio Chu Kang Road	Yio Chu Kang Flyover	SPUI		No Exit
End of expressway (SLE)		Seletar Flyover	Directional T
				Start of expressway (SLE)

{{{header}}}
{{{body}}}

Template:Coord missing

Template:Singapore-road-stub