5-hour jam? Causeway traffic on CNY eve stretches back to BKE
PHOTO: Stomp
PUBLISHED ONJanuary 25, 2023 5:18 AMByOng Su Mann
Another holiday, another massive jam.
A TikToker on a motorcycle took a video of the tailback of cars from the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) to Woodlands Checkpoint to the Johor Bahru Checkpoint on the eve of Chinese New Year.
The TikToker, who calls herself Anda The Sea, uploaded the 75-second video on Jan 21.
She captioned the video: "If you don't have to go, stay home. Let them go back for CNY"
The video starts on the BKE where the tailback was first encountered.
In the subtitle, she said that the traffic jam was estimated to be five hours.
Two cars can be seen trying to cut queue on the Woodlands Checkpoint Viaduct.
When the video cuts to a long line of cars on the Causeway, the subtitle says: "The problem is JB ain't moving."
When the TikToker finally reached the Johor Bahru checkpoint at the end of the video, the subtitle says: "Good luck everyone and I hope y'all reach home in time for CNY dinner."
The video has more than 300,000 views.
On Monday morning (Jan 23), Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) warned of heavy departure traffic at Woodlands Checkpoint due to tailback from Malaysia.
Last week, ICA issued an advisory that continuous heavy traffic was expected at the land checkpoints over the CNY holiday period.
ICA said: "Traffic flow through Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints has returned to pre-Covid 19 levels during peak hours.
"During the year-end holiday season in 2022, more than one million travellers passed through both land checkpoints, with about 361,000 crossing daily. There were several instances of extremely heavy departure traffic on the BKE towards Woodlands Checkpoint due to tailbacks from the Causeway."
"During the peak of Lunar New Year period in 2019, the average waiting time for travellers departing or arriving by car via the land checkpoints was about three hours.
"ICA anticipates continuous heavy traffic at both land checkpoints with the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays and tailbacks are also expected from Malaysia."
ICA added: "Those who wish to depart via the land checkpoints by car or bus to Malaysia between Jan 16 and 20 are advised to factor in additional time for immigration clearance."
Motorists are also reminded by ICA to avoid queue cutting as it can cause severe congestion and compromise the safety of other motorists.
In a Facebook post uploaded on Jan 21, Johor immigration authority Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) also urged people not to cut queue.
This article was first published in Stomp. Permission required for reproduction.
