Singapore — The wettest January the country has seen in years has resulted in yet another mudslide along the Tampines Expressway.
The authorities said that, because of steady heavy rainfall over the weekend, part of the slope near the TPE (PIE) exit to Loyang Avenue had eroded and that both repair work and preventive maintenance were needed.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in an update on Tuesday (Jan 12) via its Facebook page that the slope had since been repaired.
However, the slip road would be kept closed to traffic from 10 pm till 6 am until Friday (Jan 15) so that workers can carry out preventive maintenance work. It will, however, remain open in the daytime.
The LTA added: “Motorists are advised to use alternative routes to get to destinations around the area during the hours of closure, as shown in the attached map. We will continue to provide regular updates on the progress. Do continue to drive carefully and follow directional signs on display.”
This is the second time this month that this has happened. On Jan 2, heavy rain over two days eroded the slope next to the slip road.
Although repair work was carried out right away and one lane was reopened to traffic, the other lane was closed for the work to be completed.
The LTA also announced alternative routes for motorists and reminded them to drive carefully.
On the same day, heavy rain also caused minor landslides on Kusu Island, Lazarus Island and St John’s Island. Another landslide also occurred on a slope linking Outram Secondary School to the Furama Riverfront Hotel near Jalan Minyak and York Hill.
Singapore has so far seen a record 632.8 millimetres of rainfall since the beginning of the year, the highest in decades.
More rain is expected and the country will continue to enjoy cool weather of as low as 22℃. /TISG
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Heavy rains cause slope erosion, one lane of TPE slip road closed for now