Central Expressway, Singapore

Expressway in Singapore

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Central Expressway

Lebuhraya Tengah (Malay)
中央高速公路 (Chinese)
மத்திய விரைவுச்சாலை (Tamil)

Central Expressway is labelled in single blue line

Route information
Length| 15.8 km (9.8 mi)
Existed| 1989–present
History| First section opened on 17 June 1989,
last section opened on 21 September 1991
Major junctions
South end| Bukit Merah (AYE)
Major intersections| SLE, TPE, ORRS (Braddell Road), PIE, NSC, AYE
North end| Yio Chu Kang (SLE, TPE)
Location
Country| Singapore
Regions| Seletar, Ang Mo Kio, Serangoon, Kallang, Bishan, Toa Payoh, Central Area, Bukit Merah, Novena
Highway system

* Expressways of Singapore

A long exposure of the CTE near Exit 7B (Jalan Bahagia).

The Central Expressway (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 of 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.

## Route description

[edit]

Beginning at a junction with the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) in Bukit Merah, the expressway runs northeast, passing through Outram and parallel to Chin Swee Road. The CTE then runs through two tunnels between Chin Swee Road and Bukit Timah Road, with an at-grade segment between Buyong Road and Cairnhill Circle, before continuing northeast, between Kallang and Novena.[1] The expressway then turns north, intersecting the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) and passing through Toa Payoh, Bishan and Ang Mo Kio before terminating at an interchange with the Seletar Expressway (SLE) and Tampines Expressway (TPE),[2] and measures 16 kilometres (9.9 miles).[3]

## History

[edit]

### Construction

[edit]

Work on the first phase of the CTE, between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Thomson Road, commenced in July 1981.[4] Intended to alleviate heavy traffic along Upper Thomson Road, a 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) segment of the expressway between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Jalan Toa Payoh opened in March 1983,[5] while the segment of expressway between Jalan Toa Payoh and Thomson Road was opened on 18 May 1985 by MP for Moulmein Lawrence Sia.[6] In August 1985, construction commenced on a 3 kilometres (1.9 miles), S$18 million segment of the expressway in Ang Mo Kio.[7] This segment of expressway was opened to traffic in January 1987,[8] while the 1.7 kilometres (1.1 miles) section between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 and Yio Chu Kang Road was constructed between August 1986[9] and November 1988.[10]

The contract for the second phase of the CTE was awarded in December 1987. This phase, which comprised 3.7 kilometres (2.3 miles) of expressway between Bukit Timah Road and Chin Swee Road, included two tunnels, with lengths of 0.7 kilometres (0.43 miles) and 1.7 kilometres (1.1 miles),[11] and involved the acquisition of land along Orchard Road and Clemenceau Avenue worth over S$20 million.[12] Work on the second phase commenced in June 1987, and the tunnels were constructed using the cut-and-cover method.[13] As the areas along the expressway's route were heavily built-up, precautions were taken to limit disruption to the public during construction, with the exclusive use of hydraulic piling machines and work near residential areas being paused at night.[14] In addition, cofferdams were built in the Singapore River to facilitate construction of the expressway tunnels,[15] and to prevent erosion, the river bed directly above the tunnels was covered with rocks.[14] The segment of expressway between Outram Road and the Ayer Rajah Expressway opened in September 1988,[16] but the construction of the tunnels was delayed, which the government attributed to a shortage of workers and "poor soil conditions near Cairnhill Circle".[17] Construction on the CTE's second phase was completed in May 1991,[18] and the opening of the two tunnels, which were named the Kampong Java and Chin Swee Tunnels, in September 1991 marked the completion of the expressway.[3]

### Impact and expansion

[edit]

Traffic volumes along the CTE rose after the expressway was fully opened, and in May 1994, the section of expressway between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and the PIE was expanded to eight lanes to ease traffic congestion.[19] A traffic monitoring system, the Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System, was introduced on the expressway in March 1998.[20] By the late 1990s, the CTE faced traffic congestion issues, and while a road pricing scheme was introduced to rectify the issue, it was unable to eliminate it.[21]

In 2008, a large-scale improvement of the CTE was initiated, and the first phase of the scheme, consisting of the expansion of the expressway between Ang Mo Kio Avenues 1 and 3, started in June 2008, and cost S$17 million. Subsequently, flyovers were constructed at the junction with the PIE to improve traffic flow,[22] while other sections of the CTE, between Bukit Timah Road and Yio Chu Kang Road, were widened, and the improvement scheme was completed by December 2011.[23]

Central Expressway near the Cavenagh Road exit in December 2005.

## List of interchanges and exits

[edit]

Location[24]| km[25]

[26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

[32]| mi| Flyover[33]| Exit[33]| Destinations[33]| Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|

Bukit Merah| 0| 0.0| Radin Mas| --|  AYE (towards Tuas)| Southern terminus, expressway continue as  AYE
No Access to  AYE (towards MCE)
0.7| 0.43| Bukit Merah| 1A| Jalan Bukit Merah| Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
1.4| 0.87| Outram| 1B| Outram Road
Tiong Bahru Road|
Outram | 2  | 1.2  | Southern Portal of Chin Swee Tunnel
Singapore River| 2.1| 1.3| --| 2| Clemenceau Avenue| Northbound exit only
2.2| 1.4| --| 2| Merchant Road| Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
Both bounds exit 2 accessible via Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road
2.6| 1.6| --| Havelock Road| Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
Northbound entrance via Upper Cross Street
Both bounds exit 2 accessible via Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road
Orchard | 3.8  | 2.4  | Northern Portal of Chin Swee Tunnel
4| 2.5| --| 4| Orchard Road| Southbound exit and northbound Entrance only
Newton | 4.4  | 2.7  | Southern Portal of Kampong Java Tunnel
4.7| 2.9| --| 5| Cairnhill Circle| Southbound exit and northbound Entrance only
Novena | 5.2  | 3.2  | Northern Portal of Kampong Java Tunnel
5.5| 3.4| --| 6| Bukit Timah Road| Southbound exit and northbound Entrance only
6.3| 3.9| --| 7A| Moulmein Road| Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
Southbound entrance via Balestier Road
6.8| 4.2| Moulmein| 7C| Balestier Road (Northbound)
Moulmein Road| Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
Northbound entrance via Balestier Road (Southbound)
7.2| 4.5| --| 7D| Balestier Road (Southbound)| Southbound exit only
7.5| 4.7| --| 7B| Jalan Bahagia| Northbound exit only
Kallang| 8.2| 5.1| Whampoa| 8A|  PIE (towards Tuas)
Kim Keat Link
Lorong 6 Toa Payoh| Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
Toa Payoh| 8.3| 5.2| Whampoa| 8B|  PIE (towards Changi)
Upper Serangoon Road| Access via northbound exit
Signed as 8B in southbound direction
9| 5.6| Braddell| 10| Braddell Road| Access via northbound exit
Signed as 10 in southbound direction
Serangoon| 10.1| 6.3| 8B|  PIE (towards Changi)
Upper Serangoon Road| Access via southbound exit
Signed as 8B in northbound direction
10.2| 6.3| 10| Braddell Road| Access via southbound exit
Signed as 10 in northbound direction
Ang Mo Kio| 11.3| 7.0| Ang Mo Kio South| 11| Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1|
12.6| 7.8| Ang Mo Kio Central| 12A| Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3| Access via northbound exit
12.8| 8.0| Ang Mo Kio North| 12B| Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5| Access via northbound exit
14.1| 8.8| 14| Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5
Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3| Access via southbound exit
15.1| 9.4| Yio Chu Kang| 15| Yio Chu Kang Road| Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
Access to southbound exit and northbound entrance from  SLE & TPE
15.3| 9.5| Yio Chu Kang &
Seletar| 16| Seletar West Link (towards Yishun Avenue 1)| Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
Access to southbound exit and northbound entrance from  SLE & TPE
15.4| 9.6| --| --|  SLE (towards BKE)| Northern terminus, expressway continues as  SLE
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

* Incomplete access
* Route transition

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "CTE" (Map). OneMap. Singapore Land Authority. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
2. ^ "CTE" (Map). OneMap. Singapore Land Authority. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
3. ^ a b Nathan, Dominic (22 September 1991). "CTE tunnels open, more being planned". The Straits Times. Singapore.
4. ^ Lam, Mo Lian (19 January 1983). "More expressways link S'pore". Singapore Monitor. Singapore. p. 1. Retrieved 20 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
5. ^ "Central Expressway opens this morning". The Straits Times. Singapore. p. 3. Retrieved 20 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
6. ^ "New expressway opens". Singapore Monitor. Singapore. 18 May 1985. p. 2. Retrieved 20 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
7. ^ "S'pore firm awarded $18 m job to extend expressway". The Straits Times. Singapore. 31 July 1985. p. 8. Retrieved 20 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
8. ^ "CTE section to be opened". The Straits Times. Singapore. 14 January 1987. p. 23. Retrieved 20 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
9. ^ Lee, Han Shih. "First half of $600m CTE to be ready by Nov '87". Business Times. Singapore. Retrieved 20 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
10. ^ "Central Expressway section to open". The Straits Times. Singapore. 25 November 1988. p. 27. Retrieved 21 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
11. ^ "Underground tunnels to link two expressways". Straits Times (Overseas edition). Singapore. 5 December 1987. p. 3. Retrieved 20 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
12. ^ Lee, Han Shih (18 April 1986). "Plan to acquire more than $20m worth of prime land". Business Times. Singapore. p. 16. Retrieved 20 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
13. ^ Lee, Han Shih (2 March 1988). "Work starts soon on underground highway". Business Times. Singapore. p. 18. Retrieved 20 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
14. ^ a b Chia, Maylee (2 March 1988). "Huge PWD scheme will cut driving in city by 10 mins". The Straits Times. Singapore. p. 1. Retrieved 21 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
15. ^ Dhaliwal, Rav (28 September 1988). "Work starts on Central Expressway tunnels". The Straits Times. Singapore. p. 12. Retrieved 20 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
16. ^ "CTE section to open to traffic tomorrow". The Straits Times. Singapore. 24 September 1988. p. 12. Retrieved 20 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
17. ^ "CTE project delayed". The Straits Times. Singapore. 1 September 1989. p. 26. Retrieved 21 August 2021 - via NewspaperSG.
18. ^ "CTE project completed". The Straits Times. Singapore. 11 May 1991. p. 22.
19. ^ "Extra lanes for part of Central Expressway". The Straits Times. Singapore. 28 February 1994. p. 20.
20. ^ Yeo, Geraldine (22 March 1998). "Up-to-date information on all expressways from year 2000". The Straits Times. Singapore. p. 2.
21. ^ "Congestion on CTE "being studied"". The Straits Times. Singapore. 17 March 1999. p. 43.
22. ^ Tan, Christopher (10 October 2008). "2 flyovers for CTE to ease congestion". The Straits Times. Singapore. p. B4.
23. ^ Nanayakara, Daryll (29 November 2011). "New flyovers to ease CTE congestion". My Paper. Singapore. p. A4.
24. ^ "Master Plan". Urban Redevelopment Authority. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
25. ^ "Start of CTE until CTE 1km sign post" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
26. ^ "Start of CTE until CTE Chin Swee Tunnel South Portal" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
27. ^ "CTE Chin Swee Tunnel South Portal until CTE northbound Exit 2" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
28. ^ "CTE Chin Swee Tunnel South Portal until CTE southbound Exit 2" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
29. ^ "CTE Chin Swee Tunnel South Portal until CTE Kampong Java Tunnel North Portal" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
30. ^ "CTE Exit 5 until CTE Kampong Java Tunnel South Portal" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
31. ^ "CTE Kampong Java Tunnel North Portal until CTE Exit 8B Southbound" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
32. ^ "CTE Exit 10 Northbound until CTE End" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
33. ^ a b c "OneMap" (Map). OneMap. Singapore: Singapore Land Authority. Retrieved 12 May 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Central Expressway, Singapore at Wikimedia Commons
* Traffic cameras monitoring the CTE
* Infopedia article on Central Expressway

* v
* t
* e

Major roads and expressways of Singapore

Road names in Singapore

Expressways|

* Ayer Rajah
* Bukit Timah
* Central
* East Coast Parkway
* Kallang-Paya Lebar
* Kranji
* Marina Coastal
* North–South Corridor
* Pan-Island
* Seletar
* Tampines

Semi-expressways|

* Bukit Timah Road
* Jurong Island Highway
* Nicoll Highway
* Outer Ring Road System
* West Coast Highway

Major roads|

* Anson
* Balestier
* Bartley
* Beach Road
* Bencoolen Street
* Bras Basah
* Cantonment
* Choa Chu Kang
* Clementi
* Collyer Quay
* Dunearn
* East Coast
* Eu Tong Sen Street
* Geylang
* Hill Street
* Holland Road
* Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim
* Jalan Bahar
* Jalan Besar
* Jalan Boon Lay
* Jalan Bukit Merah
* Jalan Buroh
* Jalan Eunos
* Jalan Kayu
* Jurong Town Hall
* Kallang
* Lim Chu Kang
* Lorong Chuan
* MacPherson
* Mandai
* Marina Boulevard
* Napier
* Neil
* New Bridge
* North Bridge
* North Buona Vista
* Old Choa Chu Kang
* Old Jurong
* Ophir
* Orchard
* Pasir Panjang
* River Valley
* Robinson
* Scotts
* Sembawang
* Serangoon
* Shenton Way
* Sims Avenue
* South Bridge
* Stamford Road
* Sungei
* Tanglin
* Telok Blangah
* Thomson
* Upper Bukit Timah
* Upper Jurong
* Upper Serangoon
* Upper Thomson
* Victoria Street

Former|

* Jurong

Cancelled|

* Singapore Underground Road System

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