Making way for a corridor

When the North-South Corridor - originally conceptualised as the North-South Expressway - is completed in 2026 as Singapore’s 11th expressway, it will greatly improve connectivity along the entire breadth of Singapore Island.

The 21-km, $8 billion corridor will connect the towns of Woodlands, Sembawang, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, and Toa Payoh to the Central Business District, relieving heavy traffic on the frequently-jammed Central Expressway.

Singapore’s costliest expressway yet will also be the first to contain dedicated bus and cycling lanes, a boon for the city-state’s attempts to go “car-lite”. The corridor can be a model for present and future expressways to better accommodate viable alternatives to cars.

However, in an increasingly crowded, built-up urban environment, planning and constructing such a corridor while minimising the impact on said environment is no mean feat.

Hence, it is unfortunate that a handful of property owners suddenly had their precious assets acquired, because of the corridor:

A four-storey building in Thomson Road will be demolished to allow excavation for an upcoming North-South Corridor tunnel just metres away to begin safely.

The authorities found that the building was not strong enough to withstand the work.

Consequently, the 57-year-old mixed-use building at 68 to 74 Thomson Road and the 776 sq m plot of freehold land it sits on were acquired by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) for demolition.

Credit: The Straits Times.

The owners of its 12 residential units and four commercial units on the ground floor will have to return them to SLA by the end of July.

The building, which previously housed shops such as a Tanjong Rhu Pau outlet and the Animal Infirmary veterinary clinic, will be demolished by the end of this year.

Of its 16 units, 14 had been leased out to tenants.

The owners will be compensated based on the market value at the time of the acquisition.

SLA and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said they will work closely with the owners and assist them through the acquisition process. The value of each unit may differ and the appraisal work will be outsourced to private valuers...

In a joint statement, SLA, LTA and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said the building’s foundation required strengthening, but its concrete was not strong enough to allow this...

68-74 Thomson Road was built in 1964. This was the four-storey building in 2009.

Credit: Google Maps.

The building in 2019:

Credit: Google Maps.

And last year, after construction works on the corridor had begun.

Credit: Google Maps.

Property in Singapore is worth its weight in gold, so I can imagine the affected property owners to be quite bitter about this. The knowledge that their properties will be making way for a billion-dollar infrastructural project that will improve nationwide connectivity on a grand scale will be cold comfort to them.

In recent times, the authorities are getting better at planning large-scale infrastructure projects such as MRT lines and expressways, such that as few people are personally affected as possible. But there will always be the few who are inconvenienced.

A reminder that when it comes to transport infrastructure, there is always a trade-off between the greater good and private interests.

From 18 to nine

The merging of schools continues in Singapore, a result of the following:

1. The city-state’s falling birth rate;

2. An uneven geographical distribution of young people, resulting in some towns with younger populations than others;

3. The Ministry of Education’s determination to consolidate teaching resources for economies of scale, and to ensure students get “a fuller school experience” and a greater “diversity of experiences and choices” (their words).

Over the next three years, 18 primary and secondary schools will be merged into nine institutions.

In all, since 2010, 68 schools have been merged, including eight junior colleges in 2019.

At the same time, 23 schools have also opened, most of them in newer towns such as Punggol and Sengkang. That means an overall deficit of 11 schools.

Here’s the list of 18 schools to be merged over the next three years, along with historical trivia for each of them:

2022

In Jurong West town, Juying Primary will merge with Pioneer Primary.

The merged school will occupy Juying’s campus, then move to Tengah town in 2025, becoming the town’s first primary school.

Juying Primary was founded as Ju Eng Public School in Jalan Kayu in 1940. It closed in 1987, and the campus was converted into the Ju Eng Home for Senior Citizens, which still stands along Jalan Kayu today.

Ju Eng Public School in 1963. Credit: Singapore (SG) School Memories.

The school was revived in 1995 - but at Jurong West Street 91, with the “pinyin-ised” name of Juying, which means “Gathering of Talent”.

Pioneer Primary started life in Juying Primary, with 19 classes held in the latter’s campus in January 1995. By April, Pioneer moved to its current campus at Jurong West Street 81. Next year, its history will come full circle, and it will move back to its birthplace in Juying.

Pioneer Primary’s campus will probably be demolished to make way for the Jurong Region MRT Line’s elevated tracks connecting the future Gek Poh and Tawas stations.

Pioneer Primary School. Credit: Google Maps.

My recommended name for the merged school: First Tengah Primary, just as Toa Payoh town’s first schools were First Toa Payoh Primary and Secondary. Juying can be the school’s Mandarin name.

2023

In Choa Chu Kang town, Teck Whye Secondary will merge with Chua Chu Kang Secondary.

The merged school will occupy Teck Whye’s campus.

Teck Whye Secondary opened as Jalan Teck Whye Secondary School in 1966, named after its address. It dropped the “Jalan” in 1980, and in 2002, moved to Teck Whye Crescent.

Jalan Teck Whye Secondary School in 1968. Credit: Teck Whye Secondary School.

Chua Chu Kang Secondary was founded in 1992. Like the Group Representation Constituency and ward of Chua Chu Kang, the school’s name starts with “Chua”, not “Choa”.

Chua Chu Kang Secondary School. Credit: Google Maps.

My recommended name for the merged school: Teck Whye Secondary.

Townsville Primary of Ang Mo Kio town will merge with Guangyang Primary of Bishan town.

The merged school will occupy Townsville’s campus.

Townsville Primary has the honour of being officially opened twice by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong - first in 1985, when he was Minister of State for Defence, and Trade and Industry; and again in 2002, after it merged with Chong Shan Primary and moved to its current campus at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, when he was Deputy Prime Minister.

A student performance during the official opening of Townsville Primary School in 1985. Credit: Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Guangyang Primary has a long history going back more than a hundred years to Kong Yiong School, which was founded in 1918.

Between 1930 and 1992, its campus was at the junction of Kovan Road and Yio Chu Kang Road. In 1984, the primary and secondary branches separated into Kong Yiong Primary and Secondary; in 1988, the primary school’s name was “pinyin-ised” to Guangyang.

Five years later in 1993, the school moved to its current campus at Bishan Street 12. Part of the old campus at Kovan Road lives on as the Pertapis Children’s Home.

Pertapis Children’s Home. Part of the old campus has made way for Highland Centre. Base picture credit: Google Maps.

My recommended name for the merged school: Townsville Primary. The place name “Guangyang” will live on in Guangyang Secondary, and Guangyang can be the merged school’s Mandarin name.

Telok Kurau Primary of the Bedok Reservoir area will merge with Eunos Primary of the Eunos area.

The merged school will occupy Telok Kurau’s campus.

Telok Kurau Primary is another school with a long history, going back to 1926 as Telok Kurau English School at Telok Kurau Road. Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew enrolled in 1930, while Malaysia’s 3rd Prime Minister Hussein Onn followed in 1931.

The school was subsequently renamed Telok Kurau East School, then merged in 1985 with Telok Kurau West School to become Telok Kurau Primary. In 2001, the school took in Bedok Town Primary and moved to its current campus at Bedok Reservoir Road.

Telok Kurau English School, sometime between 1926 and 1940. Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Eunos Primary opened on its current site at Jalan Eunos in 1984, taking the place of Jalan Eunos and Jalan Daud schools, which were demolished.

Jalan Daud School, which made way for Eunos Primary.

My recommended name for the merged school: Telok Kurau Primary.

In Bedok town, Bedok Green Secondary will merge with Ping Yi Secondary.

The merged school will occupy Bedok Green’s campus.

Bedok Green Secondary opened in 2001.

Bedok Green Secondary School. Credit: Google Maps.

Ping Yi Secondary was founded in 1930 as Pin Ghee Public School in Kampong Chai Chee, along Changi Road. It closed in 1976, but was revived in 1983 as Ping Yi Secondary at Chai Chee Street.

Pin Ghee Public School in 1966. Credit: yeohongeng.blogspot.com.

In 2011, Bedok Town Secondary absorbed Chai Chee Secondary. In 2016, Ping Yi Secondary absorbed Bedok Town. Soon, it will merge again.

My recommended name for the merged school: Ping Yi Secondary.

In Clementi town, Tanglin Secondary will merge with New Town Secondary.

The merged school will occupy New Town’s campus.

Like Ping Yi, Tanglin Secondary has a history of multiple mergers.

Tanglin Integrated Secondary Technical School opened in 1964 in Tanglin Halt Estate, hence its name. It acquired its present name when it moved to its current site at West Coast Road in 1993.

A map of Tanglin Halt Estate in 1966. The sites of Tanglin and New Town secondary schools are shaded blue.

In 2007, Ghim Moh Secondary and Jin Tai Secondary merged to form Clementi Woods Secondary. In 2016, Clementi Woods was folded into Tanglin.

New Town Secondary opened in 1965, one year after Tanglin, just across Commonwealth Avenue from Tanglin; at the time, the “New Town” referred to Queenstown New Town. In 1969, it absorbed the neighbouring Baharuddin Vocational School. In 1998, it moved to Dover Road.

New Town Secondary School in 1965. Credit: Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

New Town’s former campus, now known as 121 Queensway, is still standing at the junction of Queensway and Commonwealth Avenue. Last year, it was converted into temporary housing for migrant workers as part of COVID-19 measures.

The former sites of Tanglin Integrated Secondary Technical School and New Town Secondary School, now the high-rise blocks of Commonwealth View, and 121 Queensway, respectively. Base picture credit: Google Maps.

My recommended name for the merged school: Tanglin New Town Secondary.

In Bukit Panjang town, Greenridge Secondary will merge with Fajar Secondary.

The merged school will occupy Fajar’s campus.

Greenridge Secondary was founded as Dunearn Secondary Technical School in 1964. It was part of a cluster of four schools with the name Dunearn, at the junction of Dunearn Road and Hillcrest Road. In 1992, it took on its current name and moved to its current site at Bukit Panjang Ring Road.

The four schools in a 1966 map.

The four Dunearn schools have been replaced by the prestigious schools of Nanyang Girls’ High School, National Junior College, and Raffles Girls’ Primary School.

Fajar Secondary was founded in 1994, first occupying the campus of Greenridge Secondary, before moving to its current site at Gangsa Road two years later. In 2016, it absorbed Chestnut Drive Secondary, a school founded in 1968.

Fajar Secondary School. Credit: CPG Construction Professionals.

Now, Greenridge and Fajar will come together again.

My recommended name for the merged school: Greenridge Secondary.

In and around the city, Stamford Primary will merge with Farrer Park Primary.

The merged school will occupy Farrer Park’s campus.

Stamford Primary was founded as Stamford Girls’ School in 1951, named as such even though it was at the junction of Waterloo Street and Middle Road, nowhere near Stamford Road. It moved a short distance to its current location at Victoria Lane in 1986.

Its former campus still stands as Stamford Arts Centre today.

Stamford Arts Centre. Credit: The Straits Times.

Stamford Primary is currently the last primary or secondary school inside the boundaries of the old Town of Singapore.

Farrer Park Primary was formed from multiple mergers.

May North and May South primary schools were founded between 1966 and 1969 at May Road, off Towner Road. They later merged into May Primary School. May Primary then merged with Boon Keng Primary in 2002 and moved to the Farrer Park area, taking on the name Farrer Park Primary.

The former campus of May Primary School in 2008. It was demolished between 2011 and 2015. Credit: Google Maps.

My recommended name for the merged school: Stamford Farrer Park Primary.

2024

In Woodlands town, Fuchun Secondary will merge with Woodlands Ring Secondary.

The merged school will occupy Woodlands Ring’s campus.

Fuchun Secondary was founded in 1986.

Fuchun Secondary School. Credit: Google Maps.

Woodlands Ring Secondary was founded in 1998. In its first two years, it served as a holding school for Woodlands Ring Primary, Evergreen Primary, Sembawang Secondary and Orchid Park Secondary.

Woodlands Ring Secondary School. Credit: Google Maps.

My recommended name for the merged school: Woodlands Ring Secondary. Fuchun can be the school’s Mandarin name.

***

Whenever schools are merged, layers of history fold into each other, and inevitably, something is lost - be it architecture, site-specific memories, or physical records. I hope efforts are made to conserve these as much as possible.

Singapore’s last freshwater swamp forest

It is the Nee Soon Swamp Forest, which was mentioned in this article about Singapore’s very own firefly:

Researchers here have identified a new species of luminous firefly, the first such discovery made in Singapore since 1909.

Credit: Wan F. A. Jusoh.

The Singapore firefly (Luciola singapura), which is less than 5mm long, was discovered in the Nee Soon Swamp Forest, the last remaining freshwater swamp forest in Singapore.

Where exactly is the Nee Soon Swamp Forest?

It is in the Central Catchment Area, bounded by Upper Seletar Reservoir to the north, Upper Peirce Reservoir to the south, and the Seletar Expressway and Old Upper Thomson Road to the east.

Credit: Dadiyorto Wendi.

The 1923 map below shows the same area at the time.

Credit: National Archives of Singapore.

The swamp forest was bounded by Mandai Road (later realigned because of Upper Seletar Reservoir) to the north, Kalang Reservoir (now Upper and Lower Peirce reservoirs) to the south, and Seletar Road (now Old Upper Thomson Road) to the east. The nearest large settlement was Seletar Village, later Nee Soon Village.

The river in the swamp forest was a tributary of the Sungei Seletar. Perhaps the forest should have been called Seletar Swamp Forest instead.

Instead, the forest probably got its name from the historic Nee Soon area, which was made up of Nee Soon Village (expunged) and Nee Soon Road (still around). However, the Nee Soon area lies outside the forest. The same area in 1954:

Curious toponymics aside, it’s great that the forest lies inside the Central Catchment Area - it should not be threatened in the near future. Long live the forest!

Credit: Wong Tuan Wah.