SINGAPORE - Motorists living in Punggol West will have another access to Tampines Expressway (TPE) when a new six-lane vehicular bridge connecting Punggol Central and Seletar Link opens on Aug 3.

This alternative route to enter and exit Punggol town will help relieve traffic pressure on existing major arterial roads like Punggol Way and Punggol Road, which feed into the TPE.

The new bridge, located near Yusof Ishak Secondary School, comes with upgraded road junctions and barrier-free paths that link to the Punggol Park Connector, said Punggol GRC MP Sun Xueling in a Facebook post on July 31.

It will form part of a new road called Seletar South Link.

Ms Sun, who is Senior Minister of State for Transport and National Development, said in earlier social media posts that the bridge spanning the Sungei Punggol river will have cycling paths on both sides.

“Punggol residents can benefit from more transport options in and out of the town,” Ms Sun told The Straits Times on Aug 1.

“Punggol is a town which is still growing, and we have many young families who drive and use public transport to go to work, visit family and friends and manage household needs,” she added.

Ms Sun said many Punggol residents use Exits 9 and 10 on the TPE to get in and out of the town.

During peak hours, motorists can get stuck in traffic for five to 10 minutes at these exits before they can get onto the expressway, she noted.

In January 2024, the Land Transport Authority

opened the new Seletar Link Flyover

, which connects Seletar Link to the TPE. This was to cater to an expected increase in traffic in parts of Punggol due to new developments there.

The hope was that the flyover would improve traffic conditions, especially at the TPE exit near Punggol Way, with motorists having the option to use Punggol North Avenue and Seletar Link to get to the TPE instead.

Ms Sun noted that there is land in the west of Punggol that has been set aside for future Build-To-Order flats.

Hence, the extension of Punggol Central and the new vehicular bridge connecting to Seletar Link will meet the needs of both current and future Punggol residents, she said.

According to

the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s 2025 draft masterplan

, two plots of land next to Sungei Punggol on either side of Punggol Central road are zoned for residential use .

Construction of the road extension and other related civil engineering work began in December 2018, after a $31.8 million contract was awarded by the Housing Board to Guan Joo Construction.

Ms Sun had said in January 2024 that the vehicular bridge would open in the second half of that year. But this was pushed back to the first half of 2025, then later to July, and now Aug 3.

Ms Latashni Gobi Nathan, who lives in Northshore Crescent, said traffic from her home to the TPE is not so bad because she and her husband can avoid Punggol Way and use Seletar Link instead.

But she said the problem is when they need to get to Sengkang, where her in-laws live. A 10-minute drive can take 20 minutes when congestion hits.

“More exits and entries will help a lot,” added the 35-year-old, who works in communications.

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Punggol West resident Eddie Sia, 35, held a similar view.

“It used to be very bad, especially in the morning. But when Seletar North Link opened, the congestion was reduced,” the interior designer said.

He added: “Once Seletar South Link is open, it will definitely improve the flow of traffic.”