Contractor who accidentally triggered sprinkler system caused MCE leak

For a fleeting moment on Monday, motorists in the four-month old Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) may have thought the partly-undersea road had sprung a major leak, reported The Straits Times.

But the water that descended in a torrent from the tunnel ceiling was actually from the MCE's deluge system - essentially an oversized fire sprinkler system that dispenses 350 litres of water a second.

The sudden 'downpour' caused traffic to slow down dramatically, as wipers and lights went on.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Tuesday that a contractor working in the tunnel had 'accidentally triggered' the system at around 12:15pm, along a westbound stretch of the MCE after the exit to Central Boulevard.

"There was no fire within the tunnel," an LTA spokesman said. "Based on our investigation, the system was accidentally triggered by a contractor who undertaking cleaning and maintenance work on tunnel wall cladding. The deluge system was immediately switched off, and normal traffic condition resumed thereafter."