MCE gridlock last week due to drivers’ unfamiliarity: Lui

SINGAPORE — The traffic snarls on the Marina Coastal Expressway’s (MCE) first day of operations occurred as motorists were unfamiliar with the newly opened highway, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew.

Although he acknowledged that it would take two or three weeks to determine whether his assessment is correct, Mr Lui does not think road-design issues caused the initial gridlock, although some drivers have lamented that, for instance, certain major exits previously had too few lanes.

Citing his own experience of driving at around 50kmh the first time he used the MCE in order to look at the road signs and familiarise himself with the changes, Mr Lui said: “I think we will have to see, going forward, what the situation is like because I think, when you open any major new route, you have quite a number of changes and people have to familiarise themselves with these changes. It will take a bit of time to settle.”

But he added: “As the Land Transport Authority (LTA) tells me, other than the first morning, it has been relatively smooth, perhaps for a variety of reasons, and I would like to believe that some of (the drivers) have moved on to take public transport, given the convenience of the Circle and Downtown lines in the area.”

Nevertheless, the minister said road markings and signboards to guide motorists were useful and improvements will continue to be made.

Mr Lui also addressed questions that have been raised about whether the MCE was opened prematurely. For example, road work is still in progress in the Marina Bay area.

Work to straighten and improve some of the roads for a smooth ride “unfortunately can be done only after we have shifted the traffic over to the MCE”, he said.

Meanwhile, fears that congestion on the MCE was likely to worsen yesterday as more people returned after the festive period proved unfounded. Vehicular volume was at normal levels, said the LTA, but traffic flow was smooth, even along Central Boulevard and Marina Boulevard — the two roads that experienced gridlock last Monday.

However, some motorists and commuters TODAY spoke to said there was heavy traffic in stretches leading into and out of the expressway.

Broker Lawrence Chan, 40, who was stuck for 30 minutes on the MCE in a taxi last Tuesday, said a shuttle-bus ride yesterday on the same route took half the time.

Agreeing with Mr Lui’s assessment, taxi driver Tan Ho Khuan, 63, said underground expressways, unlike open-air expressways, lack visible landmarks for drivers.

“It is a matter of getting used to the road,” he said.