The Pan Island Expressway (Abbreviated as: PIE) is the oldest and longest expressway in Singapore. It is also Singapore's longest road. The expressway runs from the East Coast Parkway near Changi Airport in the east to Tuas in the west and has a total length of .
Initially conceived by the Public Works Department in the 1960s as part of road expansions for handling rising traffic volumes, work on the PIE commenced in 1964. The first section, Jalan Toa Payoh, was completed by 1969. Construction of the other segments of the expressway were carried out in the 1970s. The initial expressway, from Jalan Boon Lay to the East Coast Parkway, was completed in June 1982. The PIE was then realigned and extended further westward to Tuas between 1991 and 1993. By the 1990s, the expressway was able to handle large amounts of traffic. The expressway and the interchanges along its route were expanded in the 1990s and 2000s to alleviate traffic congestion.
Route
The Pan Island Expressway measures and is the longest expressway in Singapore. Beginning at a junction with the East Coast Parkway near Changi Airport, the expressway runs northwest to intersect the Tampines Expressway. It then curves southwest, passing through Tampines, Bedok and Geylang before intersecting the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway and curving northwest, before heading west and running along the southern edge of Toa Payoh. From Toa Payoh, the expressway runs along the northern edge of Bukit Timah, curving southwest to meet the Bukit Timah Expressway, before heading west once again at Clementi Avenue 6. The PIE then travels along the northern edges of Clementi, Jurong East and Jurong West before ending at a junction with the Ayer Rajah Expressway at Tuas Road.
History
Plans
The PIE was initially conceived by the Public Works Department as part of plans to expand Singapore's road network in the 1960s to cope with a predicted large rise in traffic volume over the next two decades. It was the result of a four-year planning study conducted in 1967 by the Singaporean government and foreign planning consultants. The study was funded by the United Nations Development Programme.
Intended to connect Singapore's satellite towns and industrial estates, it would act as the main connector between the parts of Singapore and would handle high traffic volumes.
Construction
Construction of the PIE started in 1964 and took place in four phases. Jalan Toa Payoh, a long segment of the expressway between Thomson Road and Woodsville Circus, was completed in June 1969 and the segment between Woodsville Circus and Jalan Eunos, named Jalan Kolam Ayer and Paya Lebar Way, was completed by 1970. Work on the long section between Jalan Anak Bukit and Thomson Road began in March 1970. During the construction of this section of the expressway, rocks had to be excavated near Adam Road. Also, Kampong Chantek Bahru, off of Bukit Timah Road, was cleared to make way for the expressway.
In January 1975, the section of the expressway between Jalan Eunos and Kallang Bahru was completed, and Jalan Kolam Bahru, between Kallang Bahru and Woodsville Circus, was improved to form a part of the expressway. The section between Adam Road and Jalan Anak Bukit was opened in October 1976 and construction of the eastern part of the PIE, between Jalan Eunos and Changi Airport, started in 1976.
Work was started in November 1977 to expand Whitley Road to six lanes, along with the construction of a grade-separated interchange to link it with the PIE. The section of the expressway between Adam Road and Whitley Road was completed by 1978 and was opened to traffic in 1979. Construction from Jalan Anak Bukit to Boon Lay Road was started in 1978. To connect this section to the rest of the PIE, a $15.2 million viaduct over Jalan Anak Bukit and Upper Bukit Timah Road was built.
On 10 January 1981, the segment of the PIE between Jalan Eunos and the East Coast Parkway was officially opened by Teh Cheang Wan, the then Minister of National Development, having cost $50 million to construct. The section of the expressway between Upper Bukit Timah and Corporation Road was opened soon after on 31 January 1981 by Lee Yiok Seng, the Parliamentary Secretary of National Development at the time. With the completion of two flyovers across Aljunied Road and Paya Lebar Road in June 1982—three months ahead of schedule—the PIE was fully opened.