A SERIES of road closures affecting the Marina Centre area will take place from midnight on Sept 23 to Sept 29 to facilitate the setting up and dismantling of race infrastructure for the 2009 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix.

"Visitors to the Marina Centre area are strongly encouraged to use public transport. Traffic delays are expected during this period," the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in an announcement yesterday.

Nicoll Highway, Esplanade Drive, Republic Boulevard and Raffles Avenue will be open to all commuters (one-way through traffic) during morning peak hours (5am-9am) from Sept 23 to 25.

In addition to the road closures, two lanes of Esplanade Drive in both directions will be closed from 9.30am onwards on Sept 22 to facilitate setting up the Connaught Grandstand. Traffic at this junction is expected to be slow moving when the lane closures are ongoing.

Meanwhile, the following ERP gantries within the race circuit will not be in operation as the ERP gantries may interfere with sensitive video transmission equipment used for the race. On Sept 24 and 25 between 6pm and 8pm, the gantries at New Bridge Road, South Bridge Road and on the ECP (eastbound) from Ophir Road will not operate.

Similarly, from 12-8pm on Sept 24 and 25 and between 12.30pm and 8pm on Sept 26, the gantries at Temasek Boulevard and Republic Boulevard will also not be in operation.

Separately, race organiser Singapore GP (SGP) announced yesterday that American pop star Katy Perry will join the list of artistes performing within the race circuit on Friday, Sept 25. This is her first ever performance in South-east Asia.

For more information on traffic arrangements for the Singapore Grand Prix, log on to www.lta.gov/sgnightrace.htm.

This article was first published in The Business Times.