Cross Island Line Construction: P102

Yesterday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA), together with grassroots leaders and joint venture partner CES_SDC & Chip Eng Seng Contractors held a town hall meeting for residents at Elias Community Club to brief residents about the Elias MRT project. The guest of honour for the town hall event was MP for Pasir Ris West, Mr. Teo Chee Hean.

MP Teo Chee Hean delivering his opening address to residents.

Project briefing presentation
Following MP Teo's opening address, the contractor took over the proceedings, kicking things off with a briefing presentation to residents. The briefing outlined the benefits from having the station located in the vicinity and the possible connections & convenience it would bring residents. One of the highlights was the residents' ability to travel to JB much more conveniently through connection to the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) at Bright Hill station and thereafter using the Singapore - JB RTS line to get into Malaysia. It was also mentioned that residents would not need to see the sun once entering into Elias station and would only see it again upon crossing the Johor Straits. This had most of the attendees in stitches and was an interesting description of the benefits brought about by the line.

In addition, the contractor also briefed about the timeline of the expected works and noise mitigation measures that would be put in place. As of yet, works have not commenced and the site remains green with vegetation yet to be removed. During a Questions & Answers segment towards the end, residents raised concerns about the impending clearing of the site and upcoming road diversions. There was good news, however, as residents were assured that unlike Pasir Ris East and Pasir Ris Central, there would be no road closures implemented for the construction of Elias station.

Mini exhibition
Several panels were on display at the town hall for residents to peruse and obtain a better understanding while interacting with LTA staff on hand. The panels closely reflected information that was presented during the project briefing earlier. In addition, there was no video render played of the station and only still images were supplied to tease residents of the final product. As the contract is a design and build contract, there may still be changes to the final look of the station as it goes through the design approval process.

Attendees eagerly discussing the station location and exits located near their homes.

LTA staff were on hand to answer any queries that were not asked during the presentation Q&A.

Elias station will have 5 exits and be located approximately 40m deep.

The southern end of the contract features twin bored tunnels linking to Pasir Ris station.
The northern end, under contract P103, features a single large diameter bored tunnel.

Current site
The project site is currently covered in vegetation and work has not commenced in full swing. Some soil investigation work is underway, but the site still remains hoarding-free. At the western end, some hoarding has been put up and this is where the site office will be located once ready.