Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew will suffer in 2016

Dear Editor,

Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said yesterday that the traffic jam on MCE (Marina Coastal Expressway, Most Congested Expressway) was not due to road design but the problem of motorists who were unfamiliar with the new roads. 

"I think if you open any major new road, where 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," Lui told reporters Monday morning.

I think it is precisely this kind of attitude that will see Lui Tuck Yew get tucked away in 2016. He needs to stop being in denial and look at the problem objectively. Yes, the road users were unfamiliar but surely the inadequate signs had a part to play as well. Nobody was sure on that day how to get to Rochor Road area, or to keep left to go to the ECP when you usually would keep right. Yet, the multi-millionaire minister denies this fact while pinning the blame squarely on road users. 

If we look at the old AYE-ECP, it was a six lane expressway that became four as you reach Benjamin Sheares Bridge, while the other two lanes were exiting to Rochor Rd. It becomes six lanes again when the bridge is about to end with another lanes of traffic joining in from the Rochor Rd entrance near Suntec.

Now, if we look at the current design, the MCE is a five lanes expressway and only two lanes are dedicated to ECP while another three lanes are going to KPE/TPE. Now, why would so much traffic be suddenly going to KPE when previously there was not so much. It is plainly poor allocation of resources. To make things worse the roads from MCE to ECP and vice versa are winding and cars have to slow down thus reducing average speed.

Overall, the driving experience on the AYE-MCE-ECP has been poorer than previously but what choice do motorists have? In addition, the cost overrun on MCE is $1.8 billion with taxpayers picking up the tab while the building contractors earn their millions. So can the Ministers and civil servants please wake up and do what is right for Singapore rather than try to hang onto power and justify their mistakes time after time.

Winston Subramaniam

Editor note: We thank Mr Subramaniam for his contribution and encourage more readers to send in their letters and stories.