Heavy departure traffic at Woodlands Checkpoint on Sept 5, tailback from Malaysia

The September school holidays are here, so is the jam on the Causeway.

In a social media post at 9.36am, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said there is currently heavy departure traffic at Woodlands Checkpoint, adding that it is due to tailback from Malaysia.

Checks on the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) traffic cameras at 9.45am show that the jam stretches along the entire Causeway.

However, traffic on Woodlands Crossing and Woodlands Flyover is observed to be smooth.

ICA also advised travellers to expect delays and to check traffic conditions before embarking on their journey.

Heavy traffic expected during Sept school holidays

On Aug 31, ICA had said that heavy traffic is expected at both Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints during the September school holidays from Sept 4 to Sept 15.

In its advisory then, the authority highlighted that security checks have been stepped up at all checkpoints since Feb 28 — when US and Israel struck Iran — due to the heightened global security environment.

"Travellers should therefore expect longer waiting time during peak travel periods," it said.

High traffic also expected on Malaysia's highways

In an advisory dated Aug 26, PLUS Malaysia —  the country's largest highway operator —  said traffic is expected to be heavy on its highways, between Sept 4 and 7.

This is due to the increase in travel demand over the school holiday period.

The operator estimates that about 2.2 million vehicles would ply its highways daily during this period.

It advised highway users to plan ahead by referring to the MyPLUS-TTA (travel time advisory) digital schedule available on the PLUS app.

"Highway users are advised to follow the recommended travel schedule, as the suggested travel times are based on expected traffic patterns from previous festive seasons and peak travel periods," the operator said.

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editor@asiaone.com