Sixth Avenue Rises

The substructure of Sixth Avenue station is almost completed, with majority of its span already cast with its basement roof level - the ceiling level of an underground station box. Backfilling works should commence from next month onwards, and a subsequent diversion of Bukit Timah Road is expected for the demolishment of the temporary d-wall beneath the existing road.

Across the road, structural works on entrance B has begun and BSC should be achieved by March 2015. Lamp posts and signalled pedestrian crossing lights have been installed along the new Turf Club Road and we expect the opening of the new road within the next 1-2 months. Our aerial and surface pictures were taken on December 6 and 15 respectively.

We would like to thank our readers for your continuous support and contributions over the past year as our blog successfully turns One. 2015 will be a year filled with excitement as the project wraps up with its final surface reinstatement works and architectural touches. With this, we conclude our 4th Quarter updates for the DTL2 and wish all a Merry Christmas.

1 of the 20 odd trains in Gali Batu to commence testing along the mainline next year

Sixth Avenue worksite

Entrance closeup

Entrance B (December 15)

Turf Club Road

Cut and Cover Reinstates

The TKK cut and cover site is currently staging a final reinstatement of the track field at Hwa Chong Institution (HCI). The field is being temporarily hoarded up over the school holidays while the project team facilitate the realignment of the track. Landscaping works are also being carried out on the slope. 

Back at the station, the substructure of the entrance is almost completed as the staircase begins to form. We should see the entrance beginning to surface after CNY. At Watten Estate, entrance B has been structurally completed. Not shown in this update, piling works have just commenced for the bridge's column along the canal bank, while the escalators have been fitted into entrance B (Dec 22).

Fatality Accident

In a tragic and unfortunate mishap that went unreported last month , a worker was electrocuted by a power cable on the night of November 13 when he was hacking hardened concrete at the platform. He was not aware that the hardened concrete had covered a cable powering a temporary pump. The said concrete had dropped from the casting of the concourse opening 3 weeks before and he was assigned to clear the area after the removal of the falsework. He was pronounced dead by SCDF personnel at 11.30pm. We offer our sincere condolences to the Chinese worker involved in the fatality. 

Reinstatement of track at HCI over the cut and cover tunnel

Formwork for the entrance's staircase is underway, seen beside the JP Nelson crane

Entrance B (December 6)

Entrance B (December 15)

Garden's Surface

Back on the surface, the final touches on casting works of the concrete superstructures are almost completed. The ventilation unit has arrived and positioned inside the cooling tower. Steel frame segments are also seen beside the entrance, a strong indication of the impending works of covering up the entrance.

Botanic Gardens worksite

Newton - Preparations for Reinstatement

Newton progresses onward to become the first site to see a complete reinstatement. The steel truss frame of the entrance has been completely assembled and works have started on covering the roof. Closer to the circus, the cooling unit, as with many of the other DTL2 stations over the last 2 months, has been delivered and fitted into the cooling tower.

Reinstatement at Newton
The permanent bus stop at the station has taken shape as well, with the bus bay being cast at the moment. The steel structure of the bus shelter and safety bollards are completed and the bus stop is scheduled to open around CNY next year.

Reinstatement at City Towers
Down the road, the bus stop at the escape shaft site has been reinstated. Casting works of the bus bay had just completed and the bus stop should reopen back to its original location by New Year's Day.

DTL entrance of Newton Station

DTL entrance of Newton Station

Cooling unit fitted into the tower. The sides of the superstructure will progressively be covered up with grates

Permanent bus stop at the DTL entrance along Bukit Timah

Reinstatement of City Towers bus stop at the escape shaft

Rochor Realigns

Many new observations have been noted at C921 throughout the past month. The most notable difference is the straightening of the northbound Rochor Canal Road. The traffic diversion was smoothly facilitated at the start of the month. Works are now underway to demolish the former road and remove its road deck. M&E works are taking place along the main entrance and cooling tower. Across the road, the 2 lifts have been installed into Entrance B and with the completion of its structure, the site has been cleared allowing for the reopening of Perak Road.

To the south, Ophir Road has also been realigned over the newly-decked Rochor Canal near Sim Lim Tower. Further south, the Queen St retrieval shaft is in the midst of backfilling. Reinstatement works for Tekka Lane at Little India have begun as well.

Rochor Canal Road Realigned

Diverted Ophir Road over the Rochor Canal deck

Backfilling of Queen St shaft with a long-arm excavator

Pre-reinstatement of Tekka Lane beside the LTA office - Credits to Tee Neung Dusanthiah

Bukit Panjang Surfaces

In this update we view the superstructures at Bukit Panjang upfront. Backfilling works along the C&C tunnel to GBD is completed and reinstatement of Woodlands Road is progressing in phases southwards. The north front of the flyover's structure is mostly completed and mechanical works have started. A&A works to the LRT are underway as well. As part of the future Bukit Panjang ITH, a permanent canal deck is being constructed to seamlessly integrate the MRT, LRT and Bus interchange. The northbound station entrance has also been covered over with a steel roof.

Photos of the station's entrance and works at the BPLRT were contributed by 081828 and Song Keat.

A view of the new flyover

Bukit Panjang Site

Progress of backfilling and reinstatement at the c&c tunnel

Northbound station entrance and flyover on the south side

A&A works to BPLRT

December Tunnel Progress

Nov 29

S761 has just completed excavation of the Expo Bound tunnel between UPC and XPO, marking the end of its second and final drive.

Dec 5
After a long and arduous drive, the BP bound machine from the prison shaft has docked at Bedok Reservoir at last. The machine will begin to dismantle while the cutterhead and essential electrical components within the backup gantry be brought back to the surface to be reused for the second drive to Tampines West. It will join its sister machine to be the final TBM launch of the entire Downtown Line, estimated in February 2015. 6 tunnels remaining.

We thank Karthik & Sankar from KTC & Tritech for the consistent updates.

DTL3 Tunnel Progress as of 13 December. 4 tunnels remaining.

Dec 12
The final Herrenknecht TBM along the entire Downtown Line has just docked at the completed Tai Seng Facility Building this morning. S693 (TBM2) completed a 1445-ring drive (2.0km) from the Ubi launch shaft to TSFB for the Reception Track 6, tunnelling one of the longest drives along the DTL. This is Nishimatsu's final breakthrough within C929A as the tunnel contract wraps up.

This is also the DTL's final breakthrough for a single-driven TBM, with the remaining 5 TBMs along DTL3 executing or preparing their second drive.

With great thanks to the tunnelling team from Nishimatsu for the frequent progress updates.

Dec 13
The Expo Bound TBM from the Stadium Shaft has docked into Tampines Central Station. 4 tunnels to go.

Herrenknecht, Nishimatsu and LTA C929A team gracing the breakthrough of S693 at Tai Seng Facility Building

King Albert Park Backfilled

Works are now halfway through the duration of Blackmore Drive's closure, with reinstatement works taking place on the road curb. The superstructure of the King Albert Park exit has also surfaced where the deck road used to be. On the opposite side of the road, the team is still allowing time for the ground to settle before commencing any structural works on the POB.

Photos were taken on Dec 6.

King Albert Park worksite

Beauty World Superstructs

Formwork for the superstructures made tremendous progress over the past quarter. Entrance A and B shares a symmetrical, jagged design opposite each other. To the north of Entrance A, a small ventilation building is being constructed beside BWC. The cooling tower is taking shape on the south side as well.

The POB at BTSC is currently being reinstated and should be ready by the next quarter. Landscaping works have also begun around the former crossover tunnel site.

The Alstom staging area at the Beauty World site has also been cleared, tying in with the completion of trackworks towards Botanic Gardens. This milestone marks the completion of a continuous rail track through DTL2, as well as a closing to Contract 910.

View of the 4 superstructures along Upper Bukit Timah Road

Formwork for the northbound entrance

Entrance C pit along Jalan Jurong Kechil

Cooling Tower

Cleared staging area for trackworks

Reinstatement of BTSC POB

Hume Diverts

As Hume slowly phases into reinstatement, a recent diversion of Upper Bukit Timah Road was implemented over the station box.

Edit: A new signage has been put up by C915 stating that reinstatement will only take place in Q1 2016. It is believed that the additional year of construction works could mean that a ventilation building would be built along the northbound road once they remove the old road deck, or some sort of future-proofing by constructing the entrance's substructure right beneath the street level. The answer would be clearer within the next few months.

Section of slope along Hume Avenue to be rebuilt before the road finally reinstates

Hillview - Flyover

Amidst the congested site at Hillview, the flyover has begun to take shape with the columns in place. The entire flyover will be supported by a total of 11 columns. Over to the north side near Dairy Farm, the southbound Upper Bukit Timah Road (UBTR) has also been recently realigned into its final alignment alongside the flyover. Column 4 is being formed while 5 and 6 are completed. Columns 7 and 8 are also being erected towards the center.

At the south side closer to Hillview, the new paved road for the northbound UBTR is almost completed. This temporary realignment pushes the road to one side so works on the flyover landing can commence. Works will begin on columns 9, 10 and 11 once the road has been diverted.

Station progress
The vent building and cooling tower has completed its superstructure formwork. Escalators have been installed into the northbound exit, with the structure temporarily covered with a sheet roof. The southbound exit is still stagnant in progress since August.

Hillview Station. The bitumen layer for the new southbound UBTR at the intersection of Hillview Road can be seen.

Closeup of the station's superstructures and column 8 of the flyover

Drawing of the flyover columns location and the road network upon reinstatement

Columns 4 and 5 of the flyover at the intersection of Dairy Farm

Column 4 forming