MCE met with crawling traffic on second day of operations

Traffic on the newly launched Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) was anything but smooth yesterday, on the $4.3 billion's road network's second day of operations. Commuters travelling to work on the second last day of the year were met with crawling traffic, with the massive jam easing up only after lunch, reportedThe Straits Times.

Ms Chia Kim Suan, a Vice President at a bank, told the English daily it took her two hours to reach her office from her home in West Coast instead of the usual 30 minutes. Ms Chia highlighted vehicles exiting to the Central Boulevard from the east and west caused a bottleneck and went on to comment, "It was like a nightmare. If they don't improve the situation, it will only get worse. This is still the holiday period."

In comparison, evening peak-hour traffic was relatively smoother. Frustrated motorists also complained of inadequate signs and confusing directions. Additionally, the exit at Central Boulevard was utilised by more motorists to enter the Central Business District (CBD) instead of Maxwell Road, and was the biggest choke point along the new expressway. It is noteworthy heavy construction around the Central Boulevard - and several stretches of Marina South - worsened the crawl.

Other problematic areas include the city bound entrance from the East Coast Parkway (ECP), where fast-flowing traffic slowed down to negotiate a sharp left turn to enter the MCE. The abrupt slowdown had a 'shockwave' effect on vehicles behind, causing a queue to form.

MCE's exit at ECP towards Changi was also crowded. "Previously, those travelling from the AYE (Ayer Rajah Expressway) to the ECP had a seamless journey - they didn't know where one ended and the other began. But now, there are just two lanes leading to the ECP," commented retired traffic engineer Joseph Yee.

According toThe Straits Times, this choke point was worsened by a parallel exit to Fort Road, which had bumper to bumper traffic tailing back for about half a kilometre at lunch time. Lee Der Horng, a transport researcher at National University of Singapore (NUS), said having only two lanes leading to the heavily used ECP "is a bit strange" and added more lanes should be added towards the ECP, although more land need to be acquired.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) recognised yesterday's congestion and confusion largely to unfamiliarity of the new expressway and road network among motorists and expects the "situation to stabilise over time as motorists get used to the new configuration". LTA cited yesterday that it was monitoring traffic flow and will make adjustments.

As a temporary measure, it would add more signs, at key approaches to alert motorists of road network changes, and the best way to get to their destination. Also it will immediately convert a short stretch of the Central Boulevard from two to four lanes to enable better traffic into and along Central Boulevard towards Shenton Way.

LTA has also issued an advisory for motorists to take note of when using the MCE:

Westbound motorists travelling from ECP to AYE
Westbound motorists travelling from ECP should join MCE at Exit 14B near Fort Road to get to AYE, instead of using Sheares Avenue to exit at Marina Boulevard to re-enter MCE and connect to AYE.

Westbound motorists travelling from ECP to CBD 
Westbound motorists heading towards Shenton Way or Anson Road area can use MCE Exit 1 to Maxwell Road instead of using Exit 3 to Central Boulevard.

Eastbound motorists travelling from AYE to ECP
Eastbound motorists heading towards ECP should continue their journey on MCE instead of using Exit 2 to Central Boulevard.

Eastbound motorists travelling from AYE to CBD
Eastbound motorists heading towards the Shenton Way or the CBD area from AYE can exit AYE at Exit 2B and use Keppel Road/Anson Road. Alternatively, they can use CTE, and use Exit 2 to Merchant Road.

Westbound motorists travelling from Ophir Road to AYE
Westbound motorists heading towards AYE should use other arterial roads or CTE to connect with AYE, instead of using Ophir Road Interchange.

Eastbound motorists travelling from CBD to ECP
Eastbound motorists from the CBD/Marina South area heading towards ECP are encouraged to use Sheares Avenue to access the ECP.