The runway of Lim Chu Kang Road

Lim Chu Kang Road is a trunk road that has been serving the remote northwest of Singapore Island since 1931. Presently, it can be divided into two parts according to width. The southern stretch is a three-lane dual carriageway south of the junction with Ama Keng Road, while the northern stretch is a single-lane dual carriageway north of the junction.

Today, we explored the former, which runs for around 3.3km from the junction with Old Choa Chu Kang Road to Ama Keng Road.

The junction with Old Choa Chu Kang Road.

This 3.3km stretch also serves as an alternate runway for the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). Since 1986, the RSAF has been practising launch and recovery operations on the alternate runway. The last exercise, Exercise Torrent, took place in November 2016.

It is clear that this stretch of road can be used as a runway - the road is straight and wide, there is plenty of open space, and there are only bushes, no trees. It is easy to imagine planes taking off and landing on this strip.

This alternate runway was created in the 1980s. Originally, all of Lim Chu Kang Road was a single-lane dual carriageway, and the stretch from Choa Chu Kang Road (now Old Choa Chu Kang Road) to Ama Keng Road was a reverse-C shape (see the 1978 street directory map below).

By 1984 (below), a straighter channel had been laid down, resulting in the expungement of a number of tracks, such as Lorong Pasak and Lorong Kikir. The original Lim Chu Kang Road was retained as Old Lim Chu Kang Road.

By 1991 (below), the land west of the new Lim Chu Kang Road was cleared for agriculture. Tracks such as Lorong Lihat, Lorong Ensel, and Lorong Pintu were expunged for Murai Farmway and its farms.

Lim Chu Kang Veterinary Station moved out sometime before 2009. Today, Old Lim Chu Kang Road is surrounded by military camps: Tengah Airbase, Lim Chu Kang Camp I, and Murai Camp.

The bus stops along this stretch of Lim Chu Kang Road are of the old, classic sort, hardly found anywhere else.

Opposite Lim Chu Kang Camp I.

The junction with Old Lim Chu Kang Road.

Always excited to see the remains of an old, defunct road - this time, it’s traces of Lorong Tukol.

Jalan Murai has survived, and now serves the Murai Urban Training Facility.

A bend lies ahead - and beyond, Lim Chu Kang Road narrows to a single-lane dual carriageway.

This stretch of Lim Chu Kang Road, and Old Lim Chu Kang Road, Jalan Murai, and Murai Farmway, all look to be on borrowed time - Tengah Airbase will be expanded westward in the next few years, changing the landscape of the area.

Things have already been set in motion. Around 80,000 Chinese and Muslim graves in Choa Chu Kang Cemetery Complex have been exhumed; the complex will see its size shrink by 100 hectares, or a third. The six farms of Murai Farmway have moved out. And roadworks to construct a new road to replace the runway stretch of Lim Chu Kang Road have already begun; the new road will be completed in 2025 (below).

Credit: Land Transport Authority.

One thing’s for sure - this area will see plenty of change in the next few years.

Change in Tanjong Pagar

Through the process of urban renewal, Singapore’s Central Business District rose above the ashes of a colonial town. From the 1960s to the 1990s, countless historic buildings were torn down for multi-use complexes and office skyscrapers.

But the wheels of urban renewal have not stopped turning - well-oiled by an open property market and the lure of good monetary returns. Some of these complexes and skyscrapers have been sold to developers and torn down to be replaced by newer buildings. The cranes and heavy machinery rumble on night and day.

This is playing out in the Tanjong Pagar area, between Tanjong Pagar Plaza and Keppel Road.

In 1983, 16-storey Euro-Asia Centre was completed at 15 Hoe Chiang Road. Nearby, 38-storey Fuji Xerox Towers at 80 Anson Road was completed in 1987. Then, in 1991, 27-storey Keppel Towers at 10 Hoe Chiang Road was completed, opposite Euro-Asia Centre. Not to be outdone, renovations were done on Euro-Asia Centre to extend its height by 13 storeys to 29 storeys in all; they were completed in 2004, and thereafter, it was renamed Tower Fifteen.

Base picture credit: Google Maps.

Not one of these buildings will reach their fourth decade of existence. All of them were recently sold for redevelopment. Demolition of Keppel Towers and Tower Fifteen commenced earlier this year, and is still ongoing. Woe to the residents of 1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza, who have front-row seats to a cacophony of drilling and hacking (below).

Keppel Towers in the foreground, Tower Fifteen in the background.

A close-up of Keppel Towers.

And their woe looks set to continue as demolition of Fuji Xerox Towers is about to begin.

For now, Fuji Xerox Towers is still standing tall; meanwhile, in the foreground, work has begun on One Bernam, a 35-storey condominium project at 1 Bernam Street.

At ground level: In front, a building about to be born; behind, a building about to go.

One Bernam should be completed by 2026.

Credit: HY Realty & MCC Land.

The skyline of the southern part of Tanjong Pagar will be transformed in the next five years. Watch this space.

Nepal Circus, a transport vestige

As discussed in my book, Jalan Singapura, there are only half a dozen registered traffic roundabouts, or “circuses”, left in Singapore. This is one of them: Nepal Circus, next to one-north MRT Station in the Buona Vista area.

Facing south.

This roundabout is also the only one in Singapore which is connected to just one road - Portsdown Road - which defeats the purpose of a roundabout in the first place, as they are supposed to connect two or more roads.

Nepal Circus is presently a transport vestige because of its past.

In 1945, Buona Vista Road ran through a hilly area from Holland Road to the coast at Pasir Panjang Road. North of the junction with Ayer Rajah Road, it wound past three hills at heights of 125 feet, 120 feet (named Buona Vista Road II), and 80 feet.

A map of the area in 1945, with the three hills shaded light blue.

Base picture credit: Survey Department, Singapore.

Sometime between 1945 and 1950, the British built Slim Barracks at the foot of Buona Vista Road II, to house Gurkhas, soldiers recruited from Nepal and famed for their fighting prowess and loyalty. The Gurkhas were led by British officers of course. They and their families were given accommodation in the form of bungalows constructed on the 125-feet hill and Buona Vista Road II.

Because of the Gurkhas, Buona Vista Road II was named Nepal Park; because of the British connection, the 125-feet hill was named Rochester Park, after Rochester, Kent; the road which connected Buona Vista Road (later North Buona Vista Road) to Nepal Park was named Portsdown Road, after Portsdown Hill, Hampshire.

The area in 1954.

Portsdown Road met North Buona Vista Road at a steep curve, which resulted in a Y junction. To ease traffic flow, a roundabout was built there sometime between 1966 and 1969. As it was near Nepal Park, the roundabout was named Nepal Circus.

The area in 1972, with the roundabout shaded light blue.

Soon, there was a need to straighten North Buona Vista Road, perhaps because traffic volume on it was far higher than that on Portsdown Road. Hence, the straightening was done between 1981 and 1984, while Nepal Circus remained where it was. The result was a roundabout that had lost its purpose, but for some reason was never expunged.

The area in 1984.

The area in 2000.

After that, the Portsdown Road area saw significant development, as it was integrated into the one-north business precinct. The old Portsdown Prison made way for Fusionopolis. Nepal Park’s colonial bungalows were incorporated into Four Acres Singapore, a leadership development facility run by Unilever. One-north MRT Station brought the Mass Rapid Transit system to the area.

Amidst all these, Nepal Circus has somehow survived.

The view of the roundabout today, from Portsdown Road. The roundabout is mostly used for free parking.

A bird’s eye view of the area today.

Base picture credit: Google Maps.

In the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s 2019 Master Plan, there is no Nepal Circus, so I’m not sure for how long the curious transport vestige will remain.

Credit: Urban Redevelopment Authority.