Tanjong Katong sinkhole: Road will progressively open to motorists from Aug 2 noon

SINGAPORE – The stretch of Tanjong Katong Road South that has been closed for repairs after a sinkhole emerged there about a week ago will be progressively reopened to traffic from noon on Aug 2.

Announcing this in a Facebook post on Aug 1, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the roads will open gradually – with the section from East Coast Parkway (ECP) to Mountbatten Road opening at 12pm on Aug 2, while the opposite bound from Mountbatten Road to ECP will open later from 5am on Aug 4.

The authority added that bus services 36 and 48, which were temporarily diverted, will return to plying their usual routes in the eastbound direction towards Changi Airport and Bedok from 12pm on Aug 2.

Similarly, LTA said these bus services will resume taking their original routes in the westbound direction towards the city via ECP and serve all affected bus stops along Tanjong Katong Road South, Mountbatten, Amber and Marine Parade Roads from the start of operations on Aug 4.

Noting that road reinstatement works are still ongoing, LTA said motorists may continue to see works taking place in the area.

These will include repairs to underground utilities or laying of new utilities to replace damaged ones after the roads have reopened.

LTA noted that over the past week, the authorities have conducted a series of rigorous tests after backfilling the sinkhole, and did not detect any anomalies or cavities within the area.

As such, it said that LTA and national water agency PUB have completed repair works and finished a safety assessment of the affected road sections and surrounding roads.

These checks, conducted in consultation with the Building and Construction Authority, have confirmed that these roads are safe to use, added LTA.

The authority thanked motorists and members of the public for their patience and understanding on the road closure.

The sinkhole

appeared on the section of Tanjong Katong Road South

between Mountbatten Road and the ECP, swallowing a car and its driver on the evening of July 26.

The driver was

rescued by workers on-site

and was taken conscious to hospital. It was previously reported that she was experiencing muscular pains, and was still recovering in the hospital as at July 29.

On July 27, the badly damaged car was hoisted out of the sinkhole with a crane.

The sinkhole was refilled early on July 28 with liquefied stabilised soil, which is made of soil, cement and water.

Works to test the ground

were carried out thereafter.

On July 29, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu

apologised to the injured driver on behalf of her ministry and national water agency PUB

, adding that the sinkhole accident should not have happened.

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