A new dual four-lane road will be built in Bukit Brown to alleviate congestion currently experienced along Lornie Road and the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) during peak hours. 

The new road will connect the existing Thomson Road near Caldecott Hill and will cut through parts of the existing Bukit Brown Cemetery before joining Adam Road near the slip roads leading onto Pan-Island Expressway (PIE).

Upon completion of this new road, the current Lornie Road will be converted to a dual two-lane road and the space freed up used for future park connectors along the existing nature reserve.

Construction of the new road is expected start in early-2013 and end in 2016.

The new road will cater to future traffic demand, the LTA said.

Currently, Lornie Road experiences heavier traffic than before, especially during the morning and evening peak hours. Slow traffic conditions are also observed on the slip roads connecting PIE and Lornie Road.

Lornie Road currently links the eastern and western parts of Singapore, allowing motorists to bypass the city. 

It also serves as an essential road connection for traffic between PIE and residential estates in the central and northern parts of the island, such as Ang Mo Kio, Bishan and Thomson.

With future developments in the central and northern parts of the island, traffic demand along Lornie Road is expected to increase between 20 per cent and 30 per cent by 2020. This is well beyond what the current Lornie Road will be able to handle, the LTA said.

The new road will serve as the new link connecting motorists travelling between Thomson Road, Adam Road and PIE, and is part of the road network that will support future developments in Bukit Brown. The area is marked for future housing developments.

Above: Location of new dual four-lane road

The new road will also connect Bukit Brown with the rest of the road network.

Various agencies, including LTA and National Parks Board, have worked together to balance the immediate transport needs and long-term development plans for the area.

Care was also taken to avoid adversely affecting the nature reserves near MacRitchie Reservoir, and to avoid any private land acquisition for this road project. 

Impact on Bukit Brown cemetery

It is estimated that the new road will affect about 5,000 of the more than 100,000 graves currently sited in the Bukit Brown cemetery.

In a move to preserve the heritage of Bukit Brown cemetery, the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the LTA will work with the Singapore Heritage Society and other stakeholders to identify and document key heritage elements of the cemetery. 

LTA will conduct a grave identification exercise to confirm the actual number of graves affected. LTA will be calling a tender soon to identify the graves that will be affected by the new road.

After the affected graves are identified, LTA will publish details of the affected graves and invite the next-of-kin of the deceased buried in the affected graves to register their claims of their ancestors’ remains.

It will work together with the next-of-kin of the deceased to undertake the exhumation of the affected graves which is expected to take place in fourth quarter 2012.

Members of the public can call 6396-2385 or 6396-1810 if they have queries on grave identification.

tonyng@sph.com.sg

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