Opening Tengah Link to General Traffic during Off-peak Hours to Improve Connectivity

12 Dr Choo Pei Ling asked the Acting Minister for Transport (a) whether the Ministry will consider opening Tengah Link which is a bus-only road to general traffic during off-peak hours to improve connectivity; (b) what traffic modelling has been done to assess the impact of such partial access; and (c) how the Ministry plans to balance public transport efficiency with residents’ desire for more flexible road access.

The Acting Minister for Transport (Mr Jeffrey Siow): Mr Speaker, Tengah Link is a single-lane road built for the express purpose of enabling buses to enter and exit Tengah town from Bukit Batok Road quickly. More buses will use Tengah Link as a dedicated bus corridor, as more bus services are introduced in tandem with Tengah's public transport-centric development. Opening up Tengah Link to cars is not possible, as it will lengthen travel time for bus commuters and will also result in long traffic queues for surrounding roads even during off-peak hours. This is because the single-lane road is designed as a bus lane and is not designed to accommodate general traffic.

Motorists can use Tengah Drive and the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) interchange with Tengah Boulevard to get in and out of Tengah town quickly. To better guide motorists, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has improved road marking and signages. The PIE interchange will also be upgraded by 2028, to provide motorists more options to access Tengah town.

Mr Speaker: Dr Choo.

Dr Choo Pei Ling (Chua Chu Kang): Mr Speaker, I thank the Acting Minister for his response. Tengah is Singapore's first town built entirely anew in 20-plus years and ensuring strong connectivity is key to its success. As residents settle in, improving road access, even on a trial basis, these can greatly enhance daily convenience and support a smoother transition as longer-term transport infrastructure is built.

My supplementary question is, would the Ministry consider implementing a pilot scheme to open Tengah Link during selected off-peak hours, with close monitoring of its impact on both traffic flow and bus service efficiency?

Mr Jeffrey Siow: Mr Speaker, I thank Dr Choo Pei Ling for her strong advocacy of Tengah residents' interests. I have discussed extensively with LTA the Member's suggestion on whether we can open up Tengah Link during a select period or on an interim basis. Try as we might, it is not possible for us to do so because we have the intention to introduce more bus services for Tengah town, and Tengah Link will become a lot busier.

By keeping it as a dedicated bus corridor, we also have the intention of adding bus stops to facilitate transfers for residents on Tengah Link. And as a consequence, that road will become more crowded and it is not possible for us to then allow it to be open to private cars.

We have also considered the option of widening the road, but because of infrastructure and utilities on either side of Tengah Link, that, too, is not possible.

So, I ask for the hon Member's understanding as well as Tengah's residents understanding on this issue, that we have tried our best, but it is unfortunate that we cannot open up the road to private vehicles.