Most houses along Halifax Rd will not be affected

Director (Physical Planning, Central East), Urban Redevelopment Authority

Madam Sandra Jayandran expressed her concern about several colonial houses located at Halifax Road, some of which will have to make way for the new North-South Expressway (“Are the colonial houses along Halifax Road going to be torn down?” May 22).

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) received Mdm Jayandran’s feedback and had communicated with her on May 8 and 17.

We explained to her that in determining the alignment for the North-South Expressway (NSE), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) worked closely with various agencies to minimise the impact to surrounding buildings. The LTA had considered various ways, including skirting around the buildings in order to avoid affecting buildings while ensuring a safe design for the expressway. The alignment of the NSE near Halifax Road has been shifted towards the west, as close as possible to the CTE, to minimise the number of affected buildings.

Except for a small number of houses along Halifax Road which unfortunately have to be demolished for the construction work, most of the houses along Halifax Road will not be affected by the construction of the NSE tunnel. The remaining buildings will continue to be put to civic and community uses that are in line with the Master Plan zoning for the area.

Mdm Jayandran can contact the URA at 6329 3355 if she has not received our reply or wishes to clarify any matter with us.

FROM ZULKIFLEE BIN MOHD ZAKI

Source Today – 29 May 2013