A Herculean Task To Shift The River

4:55 AM  ,  

Singapore River
River Valley, Singapore
October 2012
 
 

On a KLKK (walk here walk there) trip, Merlion Wayfarer was surprised to find a big part of the river near Liang Court and Riverside Point cordoned off. The entire pedestrian path at Ord Bridge, which lies between the two buildings was diverted, and part of the walkway towards Robertson Quay was closed. What is happening?


 

A bit of research revealed that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Korean builder GS Engineering & Construction were digging a bow-shaped canal to divert the river so that a part of the river can be drained.
 
 
The drained portion will then be cleared and filled with stabilising material. Two train tunnels will be bored under it. These tunnels, which will form the new Fort Canning Station, which is part of Downtown Line 3, will be just 4m below the river bed and close to the Central Expressway.  Costing $255 million, the original path of the waterway will be reinstated after the tunnels are completed. Oh wow...
 
(Source : Public Utilities Board, Singapore)

The full album is available at:
Merlion Wayfarer's Picasa (Places - Singapore River)

Sources

  • "Notices - Singapore River Diversion Works" (26 September 2012), Public Utilities Board, Singapore. Retrieved from http://www.pub.gov.sg/marina/AllAnnouncements/Pages/SingaporeRiverDiversionWorks.aspx
    (Expired as of 2014).
     
  • "Singapore River to be diverted for MRT tunnels" by (28 April 2012) by Paul Lim, AsiaOneMotoring. Retrieved from http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Transport/Story/A1Story20120428-342609.html (Expired as of 2014).