CR108 - Pasir Ris: The calm before the storm

 

1 October 2023 - A view eastwards of the section of road that will be closed on 8 October 2023.

This update for Pasir Ris will be a special one covering the progress made over Q3 with a little spillover to October 2023 before the major road closure of a section of Pasir Ris Drive 1 between the junction with Pasir Ris Central & Street 51 and the junction with Pasir Ris Drive 8. The road closure will see the roadway reduced to 2 lanes for traffic exiting Pasir Ris to allow motorists to leave the estate and access the expressway and/or Tampines. As a result, bus services will also be affected and diversions will be in effect when the closure takes place this coming weekend on 8 October.

Road closure plans
With the main east-west thoroughfare through the middle of Pasir Ris town being closed, several detours will be effect. The currently closed section of Pasir Ris Central between Whitesands mall & Pasir Ris Drive 8 will be reopened to traffic the coming weekend. This section will be used largely for westbound traffic to detour around the closed section of Pasir Ris Drive 1.

For eastbound traffic, a longer detour involving a circuitous route in a clockwise direction along Pasir Ris Drives 8 and 3 then via Pasir Ris Central will be necessary. The right turn from Pasir Ris Drive 8 onto Pasir Ris Central to get to the MRT station and Whitesands in the anti-clockwise direction will be a transit priority corridor meant for public buses only. Regular motorists will not be allowed to use this turn. Essentially, motorists should think of the traffic flow as one large roundabout being made up of Pasir Ris Drives 8 and 3 with Pasir Ris Central.

Diagram indicating the location of the closed section of road & amendments to bus routes.
Image by LTA

Diagram indicating location of closed section of road and alternative routes for regular motorists.
Image by LTA

Poster on bus service amendments along Pasir Ris Drive 1,
Pasir Ris Drive 8 & Pasir Ris Central.
Source: SBS Transit

Preparations for the road closure
In the lead up to the major milestone of the road closure for the station's construction, preparations have to be made for alternative routes and facilities in order to support the road diversions. Work was underway to modify traffic junctions and the repave the roadways that were closed for diaphragm wall works. Other activities that were being carried out included the construction of covered linkways for pedestrians and road widening works along Pasir Ris Central to cater for additional traffic loads through the duration of the road closure along Pasir Ris Drive 1.

1 October 2023 - Works ongoing along the section of Pasir Ris Central previously closed for
diaphragm walling works.

1 October 2023 - A view westwards along the truncated section of Pasir Ris Central.

1 October 2023 - Repaving works underway to connect the truncated section with the section
previously closed for diaphragm wall works.

1 October 2023 - Another view along Pasir Ris Central showing the temporary bus stop shelter
being put in place to serve commuters.

1 October 2023 - A view of the junction of Pasir Ris Drives 1 and 8.

1 October 2023 - A close up view of Pasir Ris Drive 1 before the closure.

1 October 2023

1 October 2023 - Junction modification works between Pasir Ris
Central & Drive 8.

1 October 2023 - Noise barrier installation in front of Costa Ris BTO development.

1 October 2023 - A view of the existing westbound bus stop shelter along Pasir Ris Drive 1. The
design of the bus stop shelter is unique to Pasir Ris town.

1 October 2023 - Works underway along Pasir Ris Central to support increased traffic volume.

1 October 2023

1 October 2023

17 September 2023

Q3 updates
Over the past quarter, works have largely been focused on the installation of diaphragm walls at various sites. On the west, the diaphragm walls were being excavated and cast at the western crossover box which is located in front of block 570. To the east, the cut & cover tunnel section along Pasir Ris Town Park has seen similar works take place. At the centre of the site, preparation works for the upcoming road closure have taken place.

Centre site - main station box
The main station box will commence after the junction of Pasir Ris Drives 1 & 8 and stretch to block 536. The area in front of Costa Ris BTO precinct has seen the most action with the internal driveways being closed off for the construction of noise barriers and allowing for the preparation of the 2-lane slip road leading to Pasir Ris Drive 8.

12 August 2023 - A view of the work site where the station box begins, looking westwards.

12 August 2023 - A close up view of machinery on site.

12 August 2023 - A view of the closed internal driveways within Costa Ris BTO precinct, parallel
to Pasir Ris Drive 1.

12 August 2023

17 September 2023 - A view of the central work site and preparation works for the Pasir Ris
Drive 1 closure.

17 September 2023 - Machinery on site at the central work site.

17 September 2023 - Noise barrier installation in progress.

17 September 2023

17 September 2023 - A view of Pasir Ris Drive 1 looking westwards before the roadway's closure.

17 September 2023 - A view of the central work site approximately a month later.

17 September 2023 - Work site along Pasir Ris Drive 1, near block 537.

East-West Line station

A separate contract was called for the extension of the existing East-West Line (EWL)'s station platform. Works on the structure were substantially completed with the interior work being done. Diaphragm wall work around the paid and unpaid transfer links were also completed, with struts and decking being installed over the unpaid linkway. The reinstated Pasir Ris Central would go over the top to facilitate the diversion of traffic following the closure of Pasir Ris Drive 1.

17 September 2023 - A view of the EWL platform area extension.

17 September 2023 - A view of the work site with strut and decking being installed.

17 September 2023 - Close up of the installation of struts and decking.

17 September 2023

17 September 2023

17 September 2023

Ancillary building work site

Near to block 537 and 569 is a work site that will be used for the construction of an ancillary building for the station. Currently it is being used for storage of materials and equipment. Not much else has progressed in terms of structural construction here.

17 September 2023 - An overview of the various sites.

17 September 2023 - A view of the ancillary building work site currently being used for storage.

17 September 2023 - A view of Pasir Ris Drive 1 and the diverted roadway.

17 September 2023

Eastern section - cut & cover tunnels
Work has been underway for the construction of diaphragm walls at the eastern section of the cut & cover tunnels, just before Sungei Tampines. This is where the launch shaft will be located for tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that will work their way further east to Pasir Ris East station being built under contract CR107.

17 September 2023 - Diaphragm walling works at the contract CR108 launch shaft.

17 September 2023 - A hydrofraise machine at the cut & cover tunnel section.

Western section - crossover box

At the western end of the site, diaphragm wall works have been underway for some time now. These will allow for the construction of the crossover box that will allow trains to switch tracks, a facility especially needed for the Cross Island Line - Punggol Extension (CPE) trains on the lower level of the station as Pasir Ris is likely to be the terminus of the branch line. Junction preparation works have been taking place to convert the junction from a cross junction into a T-junction.

17 September 2023 - A view of the junction of Pasir Ris Drives 1 & 8.

17 September 2023 - Diaphragm walling site next to block 570.

Upcoming works
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and contractor Daewoo-Dongah joint venture have been engaging residents through a series of online town hall sessions which is also attended by Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris Central, Desmond Tan. Mr. Tan has often chaired these townhall sessions and actively listened to the feedback received from residents. As a result, he often pushes the contractor and LTA for updates on mitigation measures on issues such as noise generation and actively verifies that such measures have been put into place for the residents benefits.

Through the course of the town hall sessions, residents are also briefed about upcoming works that will be taking place in the vicinity of their estate. One such update pertains to diaphragm wall works which will take place up to 2025 due to the large station and tunnel footprint.

18 July 2023 - Town hall briefing slide on the various cut & cover zones.

18 July 2023 - Progress of diaphragm wall work in Zone 1.

18 July 2023 - Diaphragm wall works in Zone 2A.

18 July 2023 - Progress of diaphragm wall works in Zone 3.

With the coming weekend not too far off now, the project would achieve another milestone with the closure of Pasir Ris Drive 1 for the construction of the main station box. Do stay tuned as we bring you an update after the closure and diversion has been implemented.

This post will also be available on Instagram & Facebook on 6 October 2023.