The expressways of Singapore are a system of controlled-access highways in Singapore that allow motorists to travel quickly from one urban area to another. Construction of the system was authorised when construction of the Pan Island Expressway began in 1962. They usually have three to four lanes in each direction, although there are two-lane carriageways at many expressway intersections and five-lane carriageways in some places. There are currently ten expressways and studies about the feasibility of more are ongoing.
Construction on the first expressway, the Pan Island Expressway, started in 1966. , there are of expressways in Singapore.
The Singaporean expressway networks are connected with Malaysian expressway networks via the Ayer Rajah Expressway (connects with the Second Link Expressway via the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link bridge) and the Bukit Timah Expressway (connects with the Johor Bahru Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway via Johor–Singapore Causeway).
History +Chronology of major eventsDateEventsRemarks15 April 1962Construction of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) begins.Construction during full internal self-government of Singapore8 May 1966First phase of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) completed. Construction of the second phase of the PIE begins.Whitley Road: Mount Pleasant Flyover - Thomson Flyover - Jalan Toa Payoh - Jalan Kolam Ayer - Paya Lebar Way14 December 1970Toa Payoh Flyover, Singapore's first flyover is opened to motorists.Length: 1.2 kilometres23 January 1971Construction of the East Coast Parkway (ECP) begins with the land reclamation of East Coast.12 December 1974First phase of the East Coast Parkway (ECP) completed.Fort Road – Marine ParadeFormerly called Bedok Highway15 July 1975Planning for the Sembawang Expressway begins from Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 to Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.22 February 1976Second phase of the East Coast Parkway (ECP) completed.Marine Parade – Bedok South RoadFormerly called Bedok Highway30 September 1976Section of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) completed and opened.Adam Road - Jalan Anak Bukit1 January 1977Planning for the Sembawang Expressway was extended to Yio Chu Kang Road.19 January 1980Section of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) completed and opened.Whitley Road - Adam Road22 January 1980Third phase of the East Coast Parkway (ECP) completed.Bedok South Road – Changi AirportIt was renamed to East Coast Parkway15 March 1980Third phase of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) completed.Jalan Eunos - Changi Airport25 April 1980Section of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) completed and opened.Hong Kah Drive - Jalan Boon Lay25 October 1980Section of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) completed and opened.Jalan Eunos - Bedok North Road10 January 1981Section of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) completed and opened.Bedok North Road - East Coast Parkway29 January 1981Section of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) completed and opened.Hong Kah Drive - Jalan Anak Bukit18 April 1981Opening of the Benjamin Sheares Bridge on the East Coast Parkway (ECP) and the completion of the ECP phase 4 from Fort Road to Keppel Road.ECP Length: 20 kilometresECP phase 4: Fort Road - Keppel Road11 July 1981Construction of the Sembawang Expressway (renamed to Central Expressway) begins.20 December 1981Fourth phase of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) completed.Jalan Anak Bukit - Jurong Road5 March 1983Construction of the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) begins.31 March 1983Opening of the Central Expressway (CTE) Phase 1.Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 - PIE23 September 1983Construction of the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) begins.18 May 1985Opening of the Central Expressway (CTE) Phase 1.PIE - Thomson Road22 January 1986Opening of the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE).Length: 10 kilometres1 July 1986Construction of the Central Expressway (CTE) phase 2 including Kampong Java Tunnel and Chin Swee Tunnel.Cavenagh Road was closed to make way for the construction of Central Expressway.16 July 1987Public telephones along the Bukit Timah Expressway, Central Expressway, East Coast Parkway, Pan Island Expressway and Ayer Rajah Expressway were converted into exclusively emergency phones by 6 pm yesterday. Only calls for assistance to the police, fire and ambulance and breakdown service are possible from 74 emergency telephones.30 September 1987Opening of the Tampines Expressway (TPE) phase 1.PIE - Elias Road24 December 1987Construction of the Tampines Expressway (TPE) phase 2.Elias Road - Lorong Halus24 September 1988Construction of the Central Expressway (CTE) phase 2 from Ayer Rajah Expressway to Outram Road.5 November 1988Opening of the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).Keppel Viaduct - Jurong Town Hall Road15 April 1989Opening of the Seletar Expressway (SLE) phase 1.Lentor Avenue - Upper Thomson Road2 June 1989Opening of the Tampines Expressway (TPE) phase 1.Elias Road - Old Tampines Road17 June 1989Opening of the Central Expressway (CTE) phase 1.Yio Chu Kang Road – Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1Opened by: Mr Heng Chiang Meng24 March 1990Opening of the Seletar Expressway (SLE) phase 1.Yio Chu Kang Road – Lentor Avenue11 May 1991The completion of the Central Expressway (CTE) phase 2 including Kampong Java Tunnel and Chin Swee Tunnel.Length: 15.8 kilometres21 September 1991Opening of the Central Expressway (CTE) phase 2 including Kampong Java Tunnel and Chin Swee Tunnel.Length: 15.8 kilometres31 October 1991Construction of the Kranji Expressway (KJE) begins.5 December 1993Opening of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE).Jurong Road - Upper Jurong Road20 February 1994Opening of the Kranji Expressway (KJE).Length: 8 kilometres29 November 1994Construction of the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) phase 2 begins.Jurong Town Hall Road - Corporation Road5 November 1995Opening of the Seletar Expressway (SLE) phase 2.Bukit Timah Expressway – Woodlands Avenue 23 September 1996Opening of the Tampines Expressway (TPE) phase 2.Old Tampines Road - SLE2 January 1998Opening of the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) phase 2.Jurong Town Hall Road - Tuas Second Link22 February 1998Opening of the Seletar Expressway (SLE) phase 2.Length: 10.8 kilometresWoodlands Avenue 2 - Upper Thomson Road Opened by: Mr John Chen Seow Phun, Minister of State for Communications22 August 1998Opening of the Tampines Expressway viaduct connecting PIE and TPE.September 1998The Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) systems is implemented on all expressways.2001Construction of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway begins.2004The SOS telephones were removed on all expressways except for tunnels.23 June 2007Opening of the Tampines Service Road, currently part of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE).26 October 2007Opening of the Kallang–Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE), the longest subterranean road tunnel in Southeast Asia.ECP - PIEMarch 2008Construction of the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) begins.20 September 2008Official opening of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE).Prime Minister Lee Hsien LoongPIE - TPE29 December 2013Opening of the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE), Singapore's first undersea expressway.Length: 5 kilometresThe East Coast Parkway was shortened to Sheares Avenue.
Expansion The latest expressway completed is the 5 km Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE), which links the East Coast Parkway and Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway to Marina South and Ayer Rajah Expressway and includes Singapore's first undersea tunnel. Construction started in 2008 and the expressway opened to traffic 29 December 2013. Prior to construction of the Marina Coastal Expressway, the Kallang–Paya Lebar Expressway which runs for 12 km, 9 km of which are 10 metres underground, was started in 2001 and a 3 km section linking the Pan Island Expressway and East Coast Parkway was opened in late 2007. The Kallang–Paya Lebar Expressway was completed on 20 September 2008.
Construction of the 11th expressway, the North–South Corridor, originally conceptualised as the North-South Expressway, was announced on 30 January 2008. The new 21.5-kilometre expressway will cost about S$7.47 billion when fully completed by 2029 and will connect the East Coast Parkway with the northern parts of Singapore. In 2016, the Land Transport Authority announced that the North–South Corridor will be Singapore’s first integrated transport corridor featuring continuous bus lanes and cycling trunk routes, rather than a normal expressway when originally conceptualised.
Features Like all other global controlled-access expressway network, there are no traffic lights on the expressways. At an interchange with another road, an expressway is connected to it via slip roads. This allows traffic to change routes without having to stop or slow down. Due to the need to conserve space in land-scarce Singapore, there are no cloverleaf interchanges on the entire island as they are too large. Instead, traffic efficiency and land space are maximised by having traffic lights on terrestrial roads, as well as the usage of interchanges such as stack interchanges. The most common forms of highway-road or highway-highway intersections are single-point urban, diamond, and trumpet interchanges. Newer expressways such as the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway and the future North South Corridor uses on-ramps and off-ramps to conserve space even further and minimise disruption to the road system, through the construction of viaducts and tunnels.
The road surface is asphalt, unlike normal roads which may have concrete surfaces. The lanes are separated with white dashed lines, while unbroken white lines are used to mark the edges of the median and shoulder. The shoulder is designated for stops in cases of breakdowns and emergencies, and driving on it is prohibited by law. Lanes are numbered from right to left, with lane 1 being the closest to the median. Crash barriers, cat's eyes and rumble strips are also used to ensure road safety.
There are signs marking the start and end of an expressway at its entry and exit points respectively. The expressways are also assigned route codes consisting three letters that form their respective initials, making the Singaporean expressway network as the only highway system with route coding system. The Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System is used on all the expressways—cameras are used for live monitoring of expressway conditions, and LED signboards display information messages, such as warnings of any disruptions to the normal flow of traffic, as well as estimated travel times. The longest expressway, the Pan Island Expressway, is only long and therefore has no rest areas.
Singaporean expressways are the only highway network in Singapore with their own route codes. They are assigned with three-letter codes named after their respective initials where the last letter is always E; for example, PIE for the Pan Island Expressway. The only exception is the East Coast Parkway (ECP) whose the last letter is other than E.
Safety The default speed limit and National Speed Limits on Singapore expressways is , but in certain areas a lower speed limit such as or is applied, especially in large urban areas, tunnels, heavy traffic and crosswinds. Speed traps are also deployed by the Singapore police at many places along the expressways and are deployed from 7am to 12am.
Certain types of transport, such as pedestrians, bicycles, and learner drivers, are not allowed.
List of expressways