Central Expressway, Singapore
Central Expressway (CTE) is a major expressway in Singapore. It passes through the city centre, connecting it to the residential estates on the northern part of the island. It ends at the interchange with the
Seletar Expressway and
Tampines Expressway in the north.
The Central Expressway was constructed in two sections. The first section, from Seletar to Bukit Timah Road, opened on 17 June 1989. The second section, continuing from there to connect with the
Ayer Rajah Expressway at the Radin Mas Flyover.
The Central Expressway includes two tunnels, the 0.7 km Kampong Java Tunnel and the 1.7 km Chin Swee Tunnel. When they opened on 21 September, 1991, they are the first underground roads in Singapore. The tunnels take the CTE under the
Singapore River, Fort Canning Park and
Orchard Road. The challenge of building under the Singapore River manifests itself in leaks and water seepage problems that plagued the tunnel despite effort to solve the issue. On 9 May 2007, pieces of concrete fell from the ceiling of the south-bound tunnel, but fortunately did not cause any injuries.
There are a number of ERP Gantries along the CTE. Since 1 August 2005, ERP is extended on the expressway into the evening, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, making it the first time evening ERP hours was introduced.
Exits on the Central Expressway are numbered with the exit numbers increasing from south to north. These numbers correspond roughly to the distance markers of the 15.8 km (9.8 mi) expressway in kilometers. The following is the information on the exits and ERP gantires on the CTE, from south to north, beginning from its start at the Ayer Rajah Expressway.