The Tampines Expressway (TPE) is a highway in the north-eastern fringe of Singapore, joining the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) near Singapore Changi Airport in the east with the Central Expressway (CTE) and Seletar Expressway (SLE) in the north of the island.

Tampines Expressway
Lebuhraya Tampines (Malay)
淡滨尼高速公路 (Chinese)
தெம்பினீஸ் விரைவுச்சாலை (Tamil)
Tampines Expressway is labelled in single light blue line
Route information
Length14 km (8.7 mi)
HistoryFirst section completed in June 1989,
last section completed in August 1996
Major junctions
West endSeletar (CTE, SLE)
Major intersectionsCTE, SLE, KPE, PIE
East endChangi (PIE)
Location
CountrySingapore
RegionsSeletar, Sengkang, Punggol, Hougang, Pasir Ris, Tampines, Changi
Highway system

History

edit
 
Tampines Expressway from Jalan Kayu Flyover.
 
Tampines Expressway from Exit 9, Punggol Road heading towards Exit 7 and 7A

The expressway was constructed alongside the development of Tampines New Town in the 1980s.[1] On 22 February 1986, tenders were called for the first section of the expressway. Work began on 5 August 1986 to widen the existing portions of Tampines Road. The first section of the expressway, stretching from the PIE to Elias Road, opened on 30 September 1987.[2]

On 19 November 1987, the contracts for the second phase of the expressway were awarded to Sembawang Construction and Hock Lian Seng Engineering. Phase 2 of the expressway, stretching westward from Elias Road to Lorong Halus, began construction on 24 December 1987 and opened on 30 May 1989.[3]

In the 1990s, extensions towards the west were made to connect the TPE with the CTE and SLE to serve the newer residential areas of Sengkang and Punggol and provide a continuous expressway link between the northern and eastern parts of the island. These extensions acquired much of Lorong Lumut, Lorong Halus Village, Cheng Lim Farmway, Jalan Kayu Village, Lorong Andong, Lorong Anchak and Boh Sua Tian Road. On 30 August 1992, the Public Works Department began construction of Punggol Flyover. On 13 April 1993, a local firm was awarded the tender to extend the TPE to Seletar. On 30 June 1994, the Public Works Department awarded a $38.9 million contract to Koh Brothers Building and Civil Engineering Contractor Pte Ltd for the construction of the Lorong Halus road interchange. The expressway was completed in August 1996 after the Lorong Halus interchange was completed.[4]

In 1998, two new viaducts and a loop connecting the TPE and PIE were constructed to reduce travelling times between Pasir Ris, Tampines and Changi Airport.[1]

On 19 Feb 2023, Tampines Viaduct was opened to the public.[5] This newly constructed one-way viaduct allows motorists traveling eastbound along TPE to directly access the PIE traveling towards Tuas in the westbound direction using the newly opened Exit 2A.[6] The viaduct was initially scheduled to open in early 2020, but fatal collapse occurred during construction of the viaduct in 2017, which resulted in one dead and 10 injured.[7] Following the incident, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that the project would be completed by another company instead, which resulted in the viaduct eventually completed after a three-year delay.

On 22 Jan 2024, the Seletar Link Flyover was opened to the public.[8] The flyover provides an alternative route to/from Seletar Link, which previously only provided westbound access via Exit 11.[9] The development of the flyover is intended to support the expected future growth in neighbouring Punggol Town and Pulau Punggol Timor (an artificial island located north of Seletar), as well as Sengkang Town via planned road Sengkang West Drive in the future.

List of interchanges and exits

edit
Location[10]km[11][12] [13]miFlyover[14]Exit[14]Destinations[14]Notes
Tampines0.00.0Upper Changi  PIE (towards Changi)Eastern terminus; expressway continues as Pan Island Expressway (PIE)
0.20.12Upper Changi1AChangi North Crescent, Changi North Industrial ParkEastbound exit only
1.10.681  PIE, Upper Changi Road North, Upper Changi Road East, Bedok TownEastbound exit and westbound entrance only
1.30.81Loyang2Loyang Avenue, Pasir Ris Town, Changi Village, Tampines Avenue 7
1.91.2Tampines Viaduct2A  PIE (towards Tuas), Upper Changi Road East, Bedok TownEastbound exit only; exit was opened on 19 Feb 2023[6]
2.7 1.7 Sungei Tampines
3.32.1Pasir Ris3ATampines Avenue 12Signed as exits 3A, 3B (westbound) and 3C (eastbound)
3.52.23BPasir Ris Drive 1, Pasir Ris Drive 8, Elias Road
3.92.43CPasir Ris Drive 1, Pasir Ris Drive 8, Tampines Avenue 12
4.22.64Tampines Link (westbound)
Elias Road (eastbound)
4.93.0Api Api5Pasir Ris Drive 12, Tampines Avenue 10
6.74.2Tampines6  KPE (towards ECP)
Halus Link, Lorong Halus, Punggol Central
Signed as exits 6 (westbound) and exits 7, 7A (eastbound)
Sengkang7.54.77A  KPE, Tampines Road
7.6 4.7 Halus Bridge (Serangoon River)
7.94.97Halus Link, Lorong Halus, Punggol Central
9.15.7Punggol9Punggol Road
9.55.9Punggol West10Sengkang East Road, Punggol Way
11.3 7.0 Punggol Bridge (Sungei Punggol)
11.67.2Seletar Link11Seletar LinkWill also provide access to planned road Sengkang West Drive in the future
12.67.8Jalan Kayu12Jalan Kayu, Seletar Aerospace Way, Sengkang West Road
13.28.2Seletar Aerospace13  CTE (towards City), Yio Chu Kang RoadWestbound exit and eastbound entrance only
14.79.1Seletar14Seletar West Link, Yishun Avenue 1Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only
Seletar15.89.8  SLEWestern terminus; expressway continues onto Seletar Expressway (SLE)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "TAMPINES EXPRESSWAY (TPE)". Land Transport Authority. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Part of Tampines Expressway opens". The Straits Times. 30 September 1987.
  3. ^ "Tampines expressway". The Business Times. 30 May 1989.
  4. ^ SPEECH BY MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS MR MAH BOW TAN AT THE OPENING OF TAMPINES EXPRESSWAY (PHASE III) ON 3 SEPTEMBER 1996 AT 9.00 AM AT PUNGGOL BRIDGE
  5. ^ "Tampines Viaduct to open on Feb 19 after 3-year delay". CNA. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  6. ^ a b "Tampines Viaduct to Open on 19 Feb" (Press release). Land Transport Authority. 2023-02-03. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  7. ^ "Fatal PIE viaduct collapse: Or Kim Peow Contractors, project director and engineer found guilty". CNA. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  8. ^ "Opening of New Flyover Connects Seletar Link to Tampines Expressway (TPE)" (Press release). Land Transport Authority. 2024-01-08. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  9. ^ "New road connection to Seletar Link". lta.gov.sg. Land Transport Authority. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Master Plan". Urban Redevelopment Authority. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  11. ^ "TPE to Exit 5" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  12. ^ "TPE to Exit 13" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  13. ^ "TPE to SLE" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  14. ^ a b c "OneMap" (Map). OneMap. Singapore: Singapore Land Authority. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
edit