LTA appoints new contractor to complete TPE-PIE viaduct by 2022, two years behind schedule

SINGAPORE — A new company has been awarded a replacement tender to complete the construction of the Tampines Expressway (TPE)-Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) Changi Viaduct, and it is expected to finish the project in the first half of 2022, some  two years behind its original schedule.

The authorities and the previous contractor terminated the deal for the building works after the viaduct collapsed last year, killing one worker and injuring 10 others.

In a press release on Monday (Dec 10), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that it awarded the replacement tender for the viaduct to Hwa Seng Builder at a contract sum of S$95.6 million.

Works are expected to start in the first quarter of 2019.

The LTA said that Hwa Seng Builder will be responsible for “completing the construction of the viaduct, including the demolition of any structures deemed unsafe”.

“When completed, the TPE-PIE Changi Viaduct will provide a direct connection for motorists travelling from TPE (Changi) to PIE (Westbound) and Upper Changi Road East, by bypassing the stretch of TPE (Changi) between Loyang Flyover and Upper Changi Flyover and the existing signalised junctions with Loyang Ave and Upper Changi Road North,” the authority said.

Hwa Seng Builder is also the contractor behind the recently completed new road link connecting Punggol Central to the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway and TPE (PIE), which was opened to traffic last month.

BACKGROUND

• Construction on the two-lane Changi Viaduct was delayed when a section of the structure collapsed in July 2017. One worker died and 10 others were injured in the accident.

• The previous contractor, Or Kim Peow Contractors, was carrying out works to cast the decking for the viaduct when a section of the structure collapsed.

• The LTA called for a new tender to find a new contractor,. In the meantime, LTA’s term contractor maintained the site.

• In May this year, Or Kim Peow Contractors and five people involved were charged in court.