FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Sentosa tunnel to finish only by end-2016

Sentosa tunnel to finish only by end-2016

One-year delay as site challenges call for more time-consuming tunnelling method

The completion of the $160 million Sentosa Gateway Tunnel will be delayed by a year, it was revealed yesterday, because of site challenges requiring the contractor to use a more time-consuming tunnelling method.
 
Construction of the 1.4km two-lane link - which will take outbound traffic from Sentosa island directly to Lower Delta Road and Keppel Road - was due to finish by the end of this year, but this has been pushed back to the end of next year.
 
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday that as of last month, close to 80 per cent of the project had been completed. Construction started in 2010.
 
 
The tunnel starts at the stretch between VivoCity and St James Power Station, and goes under Telok Blangah Road, before forking out into two single-lane roads - one connecting up onto Lower Delta Road, and the other onto Keppel Road.
 
 
 
The LTA said the tunnel along Sentosa Gateway and Keppel Road has been completed, but works for the final sections along Kampong Bahru Road are still going on.
 
LTA's principal project manager for road construction, Mr Lim Chong Teik, said: "We have a very tight construction corridor and need to ensure our works do not affect the North-East Line (NEL) MRT tunnels and foundations of the West Coast Highway viaduct."
 
The NEL tunnels are about 1.6m below the Sentosa Gateway Tunnel. About a metre away also lies the foundations of the West Coast Highway viaduct. Mr Lim said there are many utility services below the road and contractors have to ensure that the traffic flow along Telok Blangah Road and Kampong Bahru Road is not unduly affected.
 
Instead of using the conventional "cut-and-cover" method at two sites under Telok Blangah Road and Kampong Bahru Road, a "piped-box tunnel" method is being employed instead.
 
READ FULL STORY
RELATED
nationthailand