Challenges & Developments
Road Infrastructure
Challenges
Roads in the early days were poorly constructed and prone to flooding
as a result of drainage problems. Infrequent maintenance and lack of
proper equipment often led to poor quality roads. Clearly something
had to be done to improve the overall condition of the road network.
As the pace of life began to pick up in rapidly-developing Singapore,
the existing road network needed to be enhanced in order to meet the
increasing demand for mobility. New roads and expressways had to be
built to improve accessibility and decrease travel time.
An ad-hoc approach to increase our road network capacity was not the
way to go. A long-term comprehensive master plan was needed for
Singapore.
Developments
Planning Our Roads
Singapore's land transport planners have always been faced with a
dilemma - how to allocate space for new road networks in the landscarce country.
Land transport planners began working closely with the Urban
Redevelopment Authority (URA) to integrate land use and transport
planning - allowing for easy accessibility into high-density residential
and commercial developments.
Public roads and road facilities are also frequently checked and
maintained to keep them safe for motorists, commuters and
pedestrians. Maintenance work include road resurfacing, upgrading
of footpaths, cleaning of bus shelters and traffic signs, painting of
railings and repairing damages to the roads and facilities. Once
spotted, defects such as potholes are fixed promptly.
Developments
Expressway Era
The late 1960s to the 1980s could aptly be hailed as 'the expressway era'
as the development of the expressways best signified the excitement and
thriving economic pulse of the time. It was during this period that the
Public Works Department (PWD) swung into action, building a bustling
expressway network across the island.
Between 1966 and 1981, the first and what was then the longest
expressway was built - the 36km, east-west Pan-Island Expressway (PIE).
The East Coast Parkway (ECP), integrating the elegant Benjamin Sheares
Bridge, was largely a 1970s construction, completing its picturesque run
from Changi Airport to Marina South in 1981.
Connecting the PIE with Woodlands in the north, the Bukit Timah
Expressway (BKE) opened in 1985, while the east-west Ayer Rajah
Expressway (AYE) opened in 1988. Bursting with confidence, Singapore's
road builders opened their first tunnels with the Central Expressway (CTE)
in September 1991.