First Tunnel Section on Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway to Open in October in SingaporeFrom 26th October, 2007, motorists will be able to move between the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) and the East Coast Parkway (ECP) using a new 3 km-long road tunnel. Traffic from the PIE will head underground at Kallang Bahru before surfacing at the ECP near Fort Road, when the first phase of the SGD1.7 billion Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) opens. The rest of the 12 km expressway, which links housing estates in the northeast of Singapore to the PIE and the city, will open late next year. Travel time from the northeast to the city will be cut by up to 25%.The Kallang-Paya Lebar tunnel will be Southeast Asia's longest tunnel, which will stretch nine kilometres when fully completed. The consequences of a major accident or emergency in an underground tunnel can be serious. Therefore, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will roll out a public education programme over the next three months on how to use the tunnel safely and how to get out in an emergency. Click here & sg/17. Read E-News Weekly 6/2004, 45/2003, 42/2003, 23/2003 & 47/2002. Visit www.kpeunderground.sg and www.lta.gov.sg/projects/proj_road_kpe.htm to find out more on the project advance.Civil worksConstruction of the 12 km-long KPE has been divided into six major civil contracts, four of which deal with the tunnels: contract C421, awarded to SembCorp Engineers and Constructors for SGD235 million, involves a 1.5 kilometre tunnel, which stretches from the East Coast Parkway to Nicoll Highway. Visit www.sembcorp.com.sg contract C422, worth approximately SGD257 million, commissioned to a joint venture of SembCorp Engineers and Constructors and Daewoo Engineering & Construction, is for the design, construction and completion of 1.64 km of tunnels, from Nicoll Highway to the PIE. It includes the construction of a ventilation building and two interchanges at PIE and Nicoll Highway. The tunnel has been constructed by the cut-and-cover method and crosses under Nicoll Highway, Mountbatten Road, Geylang Road, Sims Avenue and the PIE. Visit www.daewooenc.com contract C423, awarded to Samsung Corporation, deals with the design, construction and completion of 2.96 km of tunnels from the PIE to Ubi Road 2. It is worth approximately SGD364 million and also includes the construction of a road interchange at the Upper Paya Lebar Road/Airport Road junction and two ventilation buildings. Mott MacDonald was appointed by Samsung to design this section. Visit www.samsung.com, www.mottmac.com and www.mottmac-sing.com.sgThe cut-and-cover tunnels run beneath the Pelton Canal and Airport Road. Along the way, the tunnels cross Aljunied Road, Merpati Road and Paya Lebar Road. The tunnels, which are nominally 36 m wide, are directly below a 27 m-wide storm water canal and the flow carrying capacity of this had to be maintained at all times during construction of the tunnels. contract C424 was awarded to Taisei Corporation. It involves the design, construction and completion of 2.6 km of tunnels from Ubi Road 2 to Defu Lane 3. It is worth approximately SGD251 million and also includes the construction of a road interchange at the Bartley Road extension and two ventilation buildings. The tunnels have been constructed using the cut-and-cover method. They run beneath Airport Road, Paya Lebar Air Base before surfacing at Defu Lane 3. Visit www.taisei.co.jp and www.taisei.com.sgDigging a twin, three-lane cut-and-cover box from the surface has been the main mode of construction because no tunnel boring machine was big enough for the more than 36 m-wide tunnel. Contractors had to cut open existing roads, realign them temporarily and work on the tunnel underground, before putting the roads back in place. Electrical and mechanical equipmentSafety equipment of the KPE has been divided into seven electrical and mechanical (E&M) contracts: contract C411, awarded to Shinryo Corporation, is worth SGD47.8 million. The contract is for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of a tunnel ventilation system for the 9 km dual carriageway main tunnel and 17 slip roads as well as an environmental control system for six ventilation buildings. Visit www.shinryo-international.comSix buildings housing giant 10-storey-high chimneys will ventilate the KPE to suck out exhaust fumes from the thousands of vehicles that will pass through its 9 km underground tunnel. Located about 1.5 km apart, the smoke stacks are built some distance away from buildings nearby so that the fumes will not pose any air pollution concerns.Each building will house three to six 30 m-high smoke stacks, as well as an equal number of 25 m-high intake stacks that pump fresh air into the tunnels. Such huge ventilation facilities are needed to keep air flowing in the tunnel. Computer simulations were conducted on the six sites, which factored in wind conditions and the heights of the buildings in the vicinity. Results showed that the fumes would be safely dispersed into the surroundings. contract C412, worth SGD9 million, was awarded to AMEC. The contract is for the supply of a fire protection system, which includes fire hydrants, linear heat detectors, hosereels, fire extinguishers, fire alarm and gas detection system. The fire protection system ensures early detection of fire in the tunnels and ventilation buildings. Visit www.amec.com contract C413, worth SGD52.9 million, was awarded to Keppel Engineering. The contract is for the provision of an electrical system that includes high and low voltage electrical distribution networks, standby generators, an uninterruptible power supply system and tunnel lighting. The electrical system will have the provision of back-up power supply in the event of a power failure, and incorporates energy saving features. Visit www.kepcorp.com contract C414 corresponds to the design, software implementation, manufacture, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the Integrated Traffic and Plant Management System (ITPMS) for central control and monitoring of the traffic and all the electrical and mechanical systems and equipment. The supplier is Tyco Building Services. Visit www.tycobuilding.com contract C415, pocketed by Guthrie Engineering, is for the design, installation, testing and commissioning of the communications system for the KPE. It includes five sub-systems: expressway emergency telephone system, radio system, telephone system, public address system and communications backbone network. Visit www.guthrie.com.sg contract C416, awarded to Chevalier, is for the design, fabrication and installation of the lift and hoist system for six ventilation buildings located along the KPE. Visit www.chevalier.com contract C417A is for a heavy-gauge vitreous enamel cladding for the northbound and southbound KPE tunnels, designed, produced, supplied and installed by Lam Hong Leong Aluminium. Visit www.lhl.com.sg Just as work on the KPE winds down, the Singaporean government has given the go-ahead to start building a new 5 km-long expressway, Singapore's 10th, which will link the ECP to the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE). Branching off from the ECP just before the Marina Bay golf course, it will skirt the coastline and tunnel beneath the channel and under Marina South before emerging before the Marina Wharf area to link up with the AYE. Read E-News Weekly 33/2007 to know more. 34/07.