IT APPEARS to be smooth sailing so far on the $1.7 billion Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE), which was fully opened to traffic last Saturday.
North-bound traffic during the evening rush hour peaked at about 2,800 vehicles an hour, less than half the volume the expressway was designed to carry each way.
During the morning peak hour, about 2,600 south-bound vehicles used the route each hour, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) yesterday.
The 12km-long KPE provides a faster route for residents in the north-east heading to the city.
Nine kilometres of the KPE are underground, making it the longest tunnel in South-east Asia.
Previously, most of these residents took the Central Expressway (CTE), which is often clogged during peak hours. Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the LTA said, however, there have been no significant changes to traffic on the CTE.
Some motorists like Mr Simon Yeo, who used to find themselves mired in CTE traffic, have welcomed the KPE.
The 41-year-old, managing director of a T-shirt manufacturing firm, has used the route almost every day this week to get from his Defu Lane factory to Suntec City for meetings with clients.
"It takes me only about 15 minutes. In the past, I had to spend up to half an hour if I used the CTE," said Mr Yeo, who lives in Punggol.
The expressway saw its first incident yesterday when a car caught fire after it broke down in the KPE tunnel. Its driver and a passer-by put out the blaze and the vehicle was cleared by the Singapore Civil Defence Force and LTA traffic marshals. One lane was closed for almost two hours.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Sept 27, 2008.
