Thomson-East Coast Line Stage 3

Last August, Stage 2 of Singapore’s sixth Mass Rapid Transit line opened with six stations. Yesterday, Stage 3 opened with 11 stations.

TE11-DT10 🚇 Stevens

TE12 🚇 Napier

TE13 🚇 Orchard Boulevard

TE14-NS22 🚇 Orchard

TE15 🚇 Great World

TE16 🚇 Havelock

TE17-EW16-NE3 🚇 Outram Park

TE18 🚇 Maxwell

TE19 🚇 Shenton Way

TE20-NS27-CE2 🚇 Marina Bay

TE22 🚇 Gardens By The Bay

TE10 (Mount Pleasant) and TE21 (Marina South) will open when their surrounding areas are more developed, which could be years in the future.

Meanwhile, Stage 4 - seven stations from Tanjong Rhu to Bayshore - should open in two years. Looking forward!

The Lorong Chuan Overhead Bridge

Some time back, I took a closer look at an unusual overhead bridge along Serangoon Road.

Here’s another one - the Lorong Chuan Overhead Bridge.

At least, that’s what it’s called on Google Maps and on Wikipedia.

However, its name is a misnomer, because it is actually over Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1; the junction with Lorong Chuan is a short walk away. Perhaps it was given that name because it is near Lorong Chuan MRT Station, so people associate the surrounding area with the place name “Lorong Chuan”. Actually, Lorong Chuan is a fairly long road, running from Braddell Road in the south to Serangoon Garden Way in the north.

I would have called it the Mei Hwan Overhead Bridge instead, because it connects the Mei Hwan Drive Playground in the south to Li Hwan Close in the north.

Base picture credit: Google Maps.

Anyway, this overhead bridge is unique because it looks like it belongs to another era.

The overhead bridge resembles an elongated, olive green shipping container, with rows of octagonal windows on both sides. One might mistake it for a temporary structure, or an overhead bridge under construction.

But, it is the finished product - and it has been there for decades.

I am unsure when exactly it was completed. I saw online articles claiming that it was built in 1975. However, I could not find a primary source, be it in the newspaper archives or the National Archives, backing up the claim.

Street directories were not much help either, as overhead bridges appeared in them only between 1984 and 1988.

Since overhead bridges serve roads, I turned to the history of the roads surrounding the overhead bridge. Below is the area in 1970. At the time, Lorong Chuan (blue) was the only major road in the area, running by a steep hill. To its north, on the hill, was Jalan Pacheli (blue), at the southern edge of Serangoon Garden Estate.

Base picture credit: Singapore Land Authority collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Below is the area in 1976. By then, two private housing estates had been built on either side of Jalan Pacheli - Tai Hwan Garden to the west, and Golden Hill Estate to the east, served by roads such as Tai Hwan Heights and Li Hwan Close (all pink). Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 was still not on the map.

Base picture credit: Singapore Land Authority collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

This Straits Times Forum letter was published on 2 August 1977.

Credit: SPH Media Trust.

It starts with: “Ever since Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 was opened, the traffic at Lorong Chuan has increased tremendously…” This means Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 was completed sometime between 1976 and August 1977, to serve the up-and-coming Ang Mo Kio New Town.

As the road had to be completed first before the overhead bridge, my guess is that the Lorong Chuan Overhead Bridge was completed over Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 sometime after August 1977 - which makes it up to 45 years old.

As Lorong Chuan ran alongside a steep hill, a cutting was made into the hill to construct Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1. Hence, the Lorong Chuan Overhead Bridge stands out again because the road it crosses is below the level of the general terrain, while the overhead bridge is around the level of the general terrain.

This is clear when one is right next to the overhead bridge.

This is the approach from the south, the Mei Hwan Drive Playground.

Inside the overhead bridge.

The approach from the north, Li Hwan Close. There are private homes on either side.

As the overhead bridge is needed to connect two private housing estates, my hope is that it will remain untouched for a long time.

A brief history of Singapore’s easternmost road

What is the easternmost road on Singapore Island?

Over 200 years of modern Singapore’s history, the answer has changed a number of times, because of waves of land reclamation, and infrastructural development at the eastern end of the island.

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The British founded modern Singapore in 1819. From the 1840s, country roads began to be built from the Town - occupying an area roughly three miles by one mile in the southeastern corner of the island, around the Singapore River - to various corners of the island. One such road snaked from the eastern end of the Town, crossing the Sungei Kallang, across the eastern part of the island, to Sungei Changi at the eastern end, 15 miles away.

As the road passed the Sungei Changi, itself named after the chengal tree, the road was named Changi Road. It was completed sometime between 1843 and 1845, and became Singapore’s easternmost road.

A Chengal tree in Malaysia. “Chengal tree, Peninsula Malaysia, 2005” by Christoph Swoboda is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Below is an 1846 map showing Changi Road ending around the Sungei Changi in the east of the island.

Credit: Urban Redevelopment Authority.

A Changi Bus Company bus on the 13½ Milestone of Changi Road, about a mile from the Sungei Changi, 1953. Credit: F W York Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

With the road came settlers to the area around Sungei Changi, although it is also possible that settlers arrived by sea. By the start of the 20th century, two villages arose along the coast off the 13th and 14th Milestones - Kampong Telok Paku and Kampong Beting Kusah. Telok Paku is Malay for “Bay of Nails”, while Beting Kusah is Malay for “Troubled Shoal” - possibly hinting at the dangerous waters off the coast.

The beach at Telok Paku, 1954. Credit: Donald Moore Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

The beach at Telok Paku, 1955. Credit: Donald Moore Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Below is a 1923 map showing two tracks connecting the kampungs to Changi Road - Telok Paku Road and Beting Kusah Road. A footpath ran north from Telok Paku Road, hugging the coastline, making Telok Paku Road Singapore’s easternmost road.

Credit: The National Archives, United Kingdom.

During the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese forced Allied prisoners-of-war to start work on an airfield in the area, building two landing strips intersecting in a cross. After the Japanese surrendered in 1945, they were made to complete the airfield, and it opened as Changi Airfield the following year.

The airfield was laid down over parts of Telok Paku Road and Beting Kusah Road, and the shorter, horizontal landing strip forced the realignment of Beting Kusah Road to the east, closer to the coast. However, it still fell short of Telok Paku Road, which remained Singapore’s easternmost road.

Below is a 1945 map showing Telok Paku Road in blue, and Beting Kusah Road in yellow.

Credit: Survey Department, Singapore.

Telok Paku Road, 1942. Credit: The National Archives, United Kingdom.

Telok Paku Road, 1956. Credit: F W York Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Telok Paku Road finally relinquished its title close to a decade later in 1955, when Nicoll Drive was completed as the new road hugging the Changi coast, running from the mouth of Sungei Changi to Tanah Merah Besar Road.

For years, there had been calls for such a road to serve the bungalows lining the coast. Nicoll Drive was built over parts of Telok Paku Road and Beting Kusah Road, and it was named after Singapore Governor Sir John Nicoll (below). He also gave his name to Nicoll Highway, many miles away in the City.

Credit: Lok Wan Tho Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Below is a 1955 street directory map showing the realigned Telok Paku Road in blue, and Nicoll Drive in green.

The seawall next to Nicoll Drive to the far left, 1956. Credit: Public Works Department Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Nicoll Drive was Singapore’s easternmost road until the late 1970s, when major land reclamation pushed the island’s eastern coast eastward for the construction of Changi Airport. The new coastal road serving the reclaimed land was Changi Coast Road, which officially opened in 1981.

Below is a 1981 street directory map showing the realigned Telok Paku Road in blue, what was left of Nicoll Drive in green, and Changi Coast Road in yellow. The kampungs of Telok Paku and Beting Kusah, and the seaside bungalows along the idyllic beach served by Nicoll Drive, became distant memories.

One drove along Changi Coast Road to get a good glimpse of Changi Airport and its control tower (below, in 1990).

Credit: Singapore Tourist Promotion Board Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

From the 1990s into the 2000s, more reclamation took place in phases to the east of Changi Coast Road, creating a massive, 1,545-hectare block of land called Changi East. By 1995, Changi Coast Road became a misnomer - the coast had retreated far from it.

By 2001, Changi Naval Base was completed at the southeastern corner of the reclaimed land. The road serving it, accessible from Changi Coast Road, was Tanah Merah Coast Road - which then became Singapore’s easternmost road.

Between 2009 and 2017, Aviation Park Road became Singapore’s easternmost road instead, as it was built in the northern part of Changi East to serve Changi Exhibition Centre.

Below is a 2009 street directory map showing Changi Coast Road in yellow, Tanah Merah Coast Road in blue, and Aviation Park Road in green.

By 2017, Tanah Merah Coast Road was extended from south to north to meet Aviation Park Road, covering the eastern coast of Changi East, consequently becoming Singapore’s easternmost road again.

With the completion of the extension of Tanah Merah Coast Road, most of Changi Coast Road - save for a short stretch between Nicoll Drive and Aviation Park Road - was closed and expunged for the building of Changi Airport Terminal 5 (below).

Credit: Land Transport Authority.

Today, Tanah Merah Coast Road remains Singapore’s easternmost road. It is also the only public road in Singapore with a dedicated on-road bicycle lane (below).

Credit: Google Maps.

The current coastline at Changi East is miles away from the original coastline of the 19th century. And, it is set to move further east in coming years, away from Tanah Merah Coast Road.

It has been announced that reclamation of around 900 hectares of land will start by the end of this year, to the east of Changi East (below). The project will take at least 10 years to complete.

Credit: SPH Media Trust.

It remains to be seen what the land will be used for. Likewise, it remains to be seen whether Tanah Merah Coast Road will be realigned to hug the new coastline, or a new coastal road will take its place as Singapore’s easternmost road.

Telok Paku Road today, at the junction of Changi Village Road (formerly part of Changi Road). Credit: Google Maps.