SINGAPORE — National water agency PUB will raise a 450m section of Dunearn Road as an interim measure to deal with potential floods in the area while a drainage improvement project is underway.  

The road-raising work is expected to be completed by November, it said in a statement on Saturday (Aug 28). 

PUB gave this update following a flash flood on Tuesday along a stretch of Dunearn Road, from Sime Darby Centre to Binjai Park, where roads and canals were filled with fast-flowing reddish-brown water. 

The nearby Bukit Timah Plaza was affected as well when flood waters entered the basement of the shopping centre causing damage to shops there. 

When asked if the interim measure was already in the works or in response to Tuesday's incident, PUB said that the measure was taken to address multiple flooding incidents in the area, while the longer-term works are underway.  

It also said that on Tuesday, intense rainfall had "temporarily overwhelmed" the drainage capacity at a section of the Bukit Timah Canal, adding that the location is a "known flooding hot spot".

To address this, it is in the midst of widening and deepening a 900m section of the Bukit Timah Canal, from Rifle Range Road to Jalan Kampong Chantek, to expand drainage capacity. 

The works, which started in 2019, are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2024.

"When completed, the upgraded canal will enhance flood protection for the surrounding area including Dunearn Road, and reduce the risk of flash floods occurring." 

It added that it has made significant investments in improving flood resilience for the upper Bukit Timah area over the last decade. 

In 2013, PUB expanded a portion of Bukit Timah Canal from Sixth Avenue to Jalan Kampong Chantek and six years later, upgrading work on the Bukit Timah First Diversion Canal was completed to enable it to convey 30 per cent more rainwater.

“The flood risk for the stretch upstream (from Rifle Range Road to Jalan Kampong Chantek), where the Aug 24 flash flood occurred, will be similarly moderated once works over there are completed,” PUB said.

It advised the public to stay up to date on flood-risk warning and flash-flood alerts via PUB’s social media channels or the MyEnv mobile application, or to subscribe to its SMS alert service.