Completion of Downtown Line 2

Despite the odds, stage 2 of the Downtown Line has made up loss-time and completed by end 2015 in line with the nation's celebration of her golden jubilee year. A heartfelt thanks and congratulations go towards the construction team for working round the clock, especially towards the C917A and C918A team over the past 2 years.

As part of the celebration of the Downtown Line 2's completion, a time capsule will be placed at the surface of the Botanic Gardens station, to be opened in 2030. The cap of the capsule will feature the design of a TBM cutterhead - a symbol of the arduous tunnelling conditions through the Bukit Timah Granite across the line. The time capsule will be commissioned by PM Lee during the opening ceremony of the DTL2 at the end of the month.

Lastly, a big thank you to our readers for joining us during this memorable journey as we conclude this final update for the Downtown Line 2. Construction updates for our remaining Thomson Line site continues.

Time capsule to be installed at the Botanic Gardens station

Tan Kah Kee Station

The overhead linkway and second entrance of the Tan Kah Kee station has recently completed all M&E installations and the final ceiling cladding have been applied to complete the aesthetics of the structure. The hoardings around the site came down last month and footpath & landscaping reinstatement works are underway. The bridge project under the 918A team has been completed 3 months ahead of the initial schedule, and should be open for public use by the end of the month.

Completion of Entrance B

Civil Team 2 - Completion

This consolidated update showcases the completion of the 5 stations from Rochor to Botanic Gardens under the Downtown Line 2's civil team 2 project, excluding Tan Kah Kee Station.

Rochor Station

Entrance B

Tan Kah Kee Station

Sixth Avenue & KAP

Beauty World Station

Upper Bukit Timah Road has been fully reinstated at the Beauty World site in August. The overall reinstatement progress is almost complete, and all covered linkways, bus and drop off bays are done. Works under ER487 is nearing completion for the new right-turning intersection for town-bound buses into Beauty World. It remains to be eseen whether the bus routes would be realigned upon the opening of the DTL2.

Reinstatement in front of Beauty World Centre

Hume Station

Piling works continue for the entrance and vent shaft at Hume. The additional works will likely continue on to the 3rd quarter of 2016.

Future entrance for the Hume station

Hillview Station

The last 6 beams for the new flyover at Hillview were launched up at the end of August, concluding all beam launching works at the site. Reinstatement works have commenced along the northbound road and we project the new road to open by the end of this week. The southbound road had already diverted to its permanent alignment sometime back. The new flyover should open by October.

Architectural works have completed on the vent shafts, cooling tower and entrance along the southbound road. The northbound entrance will complete the final touch ups such as the covered linkways and bus stops upon the realignment of the northbound road. The V-shaped intersection between Hillview Avenue and UBTR will also be reinstated for right turning vehicles town-bound.

Reinstatement for the northbound carriageway beneath the flyover

Bukit Panjang Station

We are now 115 days to the opening of the Downtown Line 2. We review of the progress of the stations over the 3rd quarter of this year. Our final updates for this blog will be made prior to the opening of the line in December.

All the major works under the civil contract 912 have completed, with minor M&E and reinstatement works being facilitated as of now. This project was initially delayed in the early phases of construction due to the shallow presence of the weathered Bukit Timah Granite. The project team managed to make up loss time over the later part of the project and successfully completed the station on track.

A third entrance at Bukit Panjang Road is currently being constructed by Zublin under C9057. The works involves the open cut excavation of the new entrance, construction of linkway tunnels between the station and the entrance as well as A&A at the interface of the station boundary. Independent from the main contract, the additional works here only started around the middle of last year. Numerous road diversions will be staged around the intersection of Bt Panjang Road and UBTR, in particular the slip road.

The entrance has been slated for completion only by the end of 2016. The new Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub will open the following year, in 2017.

Reinstatement across the entire stretch of UBTR above the station box to the former crossover tunnel site at the Linear

Skylights at the southbound entrance

King Albert Park Realigns (II)

Photos of the aftermath of Sunday's diversion is categorized in this second post. The current realigned section will temporarily operate a 3 lane carriageway with uneven curve settings until the road decking is removed and canal surroundings reinstated. 

The final reinstatement to the road should take place closer towards the end of the year, and would see the re-extension of the median divider in front of Maplewoods in addition to the opening of the remaining 2 carriageway, reinstating to the original capacity of 5 lanes.

Temporary uneven inclinations around the juncture of the former road deck and the realigned road

King Albert Park Realigns

The 3 lane carriageway of Bukit Timah Road will be reinstated at the King Albert Park site come tomorrow morning. This realignment is one that has been eagerly anticipated by residents. The realignment has been brought forward from year end with great effort from the MacDow team. Blackmore Drive is currently temporarily closed over the weekend as the team cuts the temporary slope inclination that leads to the existing canal decking.

Frames for the drop off bay and permanent bus stop have been constructed, and the overall cladding and M&E works to the overhead linkway, as well as both entrances are almost completed.

Live progress of the reinstatement works

Completed drop off bay at the main entrance of the station.

Tan Kah Kee Clads (II)

Majority of the architectural works have already completed at the concourse and platform of the Tan Kah Kee station (photos were taken a month back). Cladding to the exterior superstructures like the entrance and overhead linkway is progressing, while structural steel segments for the roof of the permanent bus and drop-off bay have been installed on the site.

Photos on the surface will be updated next week. Interior pictures are provided by Ceramic Steel Alliance.

Platform of TKK station (July 2)

Botanic Gardens Station

The Land Transport Authority held a ministerial tour on the Downtown Line 2 between Little India, Botanic Gardens and the Gali Batu Depot yesterday for the announcement of the line's impending opening on December 27, as well as to provide an update on the rail report.

The new line, together with the existing operational stage 1, is expected to operate freely over the festive holidays for the first week upon opening.

The twin escalators at the platform of Botanic Gardens are one of the longest along the line

Tan Kah Kee Clads

Architectural works have commenced on the overhead linkway and Entrance B. The roof of the linkway have been partially completed, while vertical honeycomb-like frames - signature to the station's design, have been installed along the sides of the bridge. Entrance B is also being fitted with the panels on the exterior, and cladding is being done on the interior roof as well.

Reinstatement works around the entrance and south vent building

Gardens Reinstatement

The C919 project is also wrapping up works at the Botanic Gardens station with majority of the entrance's architectural works completed. Landscaping and the re-opening of the widened slip road will pave the way for a complete reinstatement by August.

Completed entrance at Botanic Gardens

Stevens Reinstates

Reinstatement works are almost completed at the Stevens Station. The 919 team have completed majority of the architectural works on the superstructure, and are preparing to reinstate Robin Walk as well as the slip road turn to Stevens Road.

Reinstatement on the surface of Stevens Station

Little India & Rochor

Architectural works have almost completed at the 2 stations. Reinstatement to the surface at Little India has completed, and the temporary road deck above the canal has been demolished. The subsequent demolishment of the old canal is expected to be handled by the NSE contractor within the next 2 years.

Reinstatement is taking place at Rochor similarly, with the intersection between Rochor Canal Road and Bencoolen St realigned. The retrieval shaft at Queen Street has also been reinstated back. Photos in this update were taken from SSangyong's facebook page prior to June.

The box tunnel for the future North South Expressway (NSE) runs above the roof of the Rochor Station 

Tunnelling Completes for Downtown Line

The final Tunnel Boring Machine under C926 docked into Tampines West station from the Prison Shaft yesterday, completing the 42km long Bukit Panjang bound tunnel for the Downtown Line.

Completion of all bored tunnels under DTL3 on June 8, 2015

Tan Kah Kee - Structural Completetion

Casting of the escalator frame at the TKK POB linkway completed over the weekend. This is one of the final major structural components to be completed at the site. Fitting works have commenced on Entrance B, while steel frames for the roof have been installed on the bridge. The final set of escalators for the DTL2 will be delivered and fitted into the linkway between the bridge and the main entrance this month.

Structural completion of the transfer linkway connecting the POB and the main entrance

Acoustic Shed Dismantles

Dismantling of the temporary acoustic shed at the King Albert Park site commenced at the start of this month. A mobile crane and cherry picker is currently facilitating the dismantling, with the inner section of the shed closer to Maplewoods being dismantled first. The side barriers are being removed concurrent with the dismantling of the roof.

Entrance B has achieved BSC, and the escalators had just been fitted into the structure over the weekend.

Sheet Piling at Hume

Sheet piling works have been carried out on both sides of the road over the past 2 months. The sheet piles form an earth retaining structure for the subsequent excavation of the additional 2 structures that would extend from the existing station box. An integrated superstructures of the entrances and ventilation buildings would likely surface by the end of this year. There is a possibility that this station would open sooner than anticipated, perhaps even by the next decade, judging by the late decision of the additional works.

Hume site, May 2015

Little India Realigns

Little India progresses onward as the next station to complete reinstatement works on the surface. The permanent realignment of the southbound Bukit Timah Road was implemented earlier this morning. The temporary road decking above the old canal will be subsequently demolished alongside the former Rochor Canal.

Realignment as of 7am (Photo Cr: Aran)

Beauty World Clads

Fittings at the Beauty World station are almost completed. The hoisting and installation of glass panels commenced at the start of last month on Entrances A and B, and have completed since then. Entrance C's roof has been covered with an aluminium sheet and should commence architectural fittings soon. The network of covered linkways surrounding entrance B have been structurally completed.

Entrance B

Newton - T.O.P

The first of 12 stations along the Downtown Line 2 passed the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) inspection this morning. Testing of the trains have recently commenced from the operational DTL1 to Botanic Gardens.

Downtown Line Entrance to the Newton station

Prison Shaft (II)

The final TBM is now 142 rings (approx ~199m, 55% completion) into the excavation of the BP bound tunnel from the Prison Shaft towards Tampines West. At the present rate, the breakthrough can be anticipated by mid June. The Land Transport Authority shared some photographs of the shaft taken earlier last month after the launch of the BP bound TBM.

Completed tunnels towards Bedok Reservoir

Sixth Avenue Diverts

To facilitate the hacking of the temporary D-wall beneath the existing Bukit Timah Road, a lane-for-lane diversion was implemented at the Sixth Avenue site on Saturday morning. This is the final road diversion anticipated along Bukit Timah road under the Downtown Line project. The works are envisaged to take around 2 months to complete and the permanent reinstatement will take place then.

Hillview Superstructures

We review the progress of the numerous superstructures that have emerged at the Hillview site.

Northbound Entrance
While architectural works on the exterior facade remain at a standstill due to the flyover works, the M&E installations proceed within the entrance. The ceiling panels are being installed as well. The column-mount CCTVs have arrived at the entrance in full view from the junction.

Northbound entrance with the pre-installed CCTV mounts

Cashew Clads

Cladding works on the 2 ventilation buildings have completed. The reinstatement of the Woodlands bound carriageway is almost done and the permanent realignment shall take place soon. Pictures were taken round the station entrance showing the various angles of the facades. The integrated bus bay and drop-off bay is currently being constructed outside the entrance.

The implementation of the wave-like vertical strip design is extended from the cooling tower to the vent building. 

Bukit Panjang Circus

A temporary roundabout beneath the new Bukit Panjang flyover was implemented this morning at the junction of Upper Bukit Timah Road, CCK road, Woodlands Road and Bukit Panjang Road. The roundabout which concaves along the central flyover columns, sparks resemblance to the design of Newton Circus. Traffic marshals are currently deployed to aid directory for motorists while the traffic signal timing is being adjusted. The temporary diversion is envisaged to last for 3 months.

Progress of the cladding and structural works on the superstructures are documented in this update.

Temporary traffic layout of the roundabout at the CCK end

Gali Batu Depot

Test runs along the Downtown Line 2 are progressing. The Gali Batu Depot obtained the temporary occupancy permit (TOP) towards the end of 2014, and the fleet of over 30 trains required for the operation of the DTL2 have been delivered. The Land Transport Authority is now heading the testing of trains along the mainline.

The depot is scheduled to be handed over to the operator SBS Transit towards the end of this year. Through testing with the existing operational DTL1 will take place then.

Administrative building at Gali Batu Depot

DTL2 fleet

Sixth Avenue - Beam Launching

The beam launching works that are scheduled tonight for the new POB at the Sixth Avenue Station is testimonial to the C917A project team's commitment and efficiency towards a swift completion of the Downtown Line 2. The first truss segment, to be launched over Bukit Timah Road tonight, comes just less than 2 weeks after the twin columns were cast.

The second truss segment across the canal and Dunearn Road will be launched up next Tuesday (May 5).

April 30 - Beam launched over Bt Timah Road

May 8 - Beam launched over Dunearn Road

Expo Bound Tunnel Completes

The last frontier of the 42km long Expo Bound tunnel for the entire Downtown Line have just been successfully broken through at Tampines West station. The TBM went through an arduous journey during its first drive towards Bedok Reservoir. 3 months of reassembly works were done at the Prison Shaft prior to the commencement of the second drive towards Tampines West. The breakthrough marks the retirement of the machine on the MRT project, as well as a complete linkage to the network of underground tunnels within the Downtown Line.

Tunnel Chart for DTL3, Apr 2015

Tan Kah Kee - Beam Launching

The final concrete beam segments for the new POB at the Tan Kah Kee station were launched up over Bukit Timah Road in the wee hours of this morning. This concludes all beam launching works at the TKK station. Columns for the transition structure between the station entrance and the bridge are being cast at the moment.

Launched diagonal beam segments over Bt Timah Road

Render of the completed POB (Cr: Ong & Ong)

King Albert Park - Beam Launching

The beam for the new pedestrian overhead bridge (POB) linking both entrances of the King Albert Park station has successfully been launched yesterday. A single steel truss spans the across the length of both roads. The superstructure of Entrance B has begun to form up, while the main entrance has been cast up to the bridge mezzanine level.

Due to the inclined elevation of the existing temporary decked road above the canal, the clearance between the temporary Bukit Timah Road and the new bridge is estimated to be about 5m, with only about 500mm of clearance observed above a double decker bus. While this is within the legal 4.5m limit, temporary height precaution barriers have been installed by the project team along Blackmore Drive and Bukit Timah Road prior to the POB.

Mined excavation of the tunnel linking the station to the ventilation building across Dunearn Road had recently been completed by the MacDow team. Formwork for the ventilation building superstructure has commenced, and the gantry crane is expected to be demobilized in the coming weeks. The reinstatement of Bukit Timah Road is scheduled by year end.

April 16

Turf Club Road Realigns

The realignment of Turf Club Road under ER461 was successfully completed and opened on Saturday morning. The realigned road now makes way for the subsequent reinstatement and completion of the Sixth Avenue station's entrance B - within which escalators have just been installed.

Along Bukit Timah Road, piling works have commenced on the POB's intermediate column that will surface along the canal bank. Beam launching works should take place by the end of this quarter once the column is cast.  The truss for the POB are being fabricated in 2 segments at the moment. The north segment is being fabricated at Entrance B and will be launched up over Dunearn Road. The south segment is being done up over at the main site and will be launched across Bukit Timah Road.

Casting of the ventilation building and entrance is almost completed, while backfilling has started over the station roof slab.

Piling works for the POB column (April 6)

Realigned Turf Club Road (April 13)

Bukit Panjang - Flyover Opening

The Bukit Panjang Flyover is finally completed and will be operational from tomorrow. The new 2-lane flyover will be provide seamless transition between Woodlands Road and Upper Bukit Timah Road, bypassing the existing cross intersection. A community stroll was organized for residents in the vicinity on the new flyover earlier this morning.

Photos below were collectively taken by my co-blog author over the past week as the final touches such as surfacing, lane markings, installation of barriers on the flyover, as well as beam launching works for the POB at Junction 10 were being done up.

Mass walk by residents along the new Flyover this morning (April 11)

Final TBM Launch

The last Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) for the 42km Downtown Line has launched from the Prison Shaft today. The ∅6670mm STEC EPBM will spend the next 2.5 months boring the 350m Bukit Panjang bound tunnel towards Tampines West Station, with the final breakthrough scheduled in June.

It's sister Expo bound machine is currently about 75% through the tunnel excavation and should arrive at Tampines West in 2 weeks time.

Watten Estate - Beam Launching

Beam launching works for the POB at Tan Kah Kee were carried out last week. The concrete beams for the segments across the canal and Dunearn Road have been launched. On the bukit timah side, the final 2 intermediate columns for the bridge had just been cast. The road is preparing to be permanently realigned with workers preparing the formwork for the box culvert. The final beam segment across Bukit Timah Road will be launched in about June.

April 1 - Cast of the final 2 columns along Bukit Timah Road. Reinstatement works are underway

April 1 - Beam segments launched over Dunearn Road

Newton Clads

Cladding works to the entrance and cooling tower at the Newton station have completed. The mechanical and electrical fixtures are also about complete, and the ceiling lights of the entrance have been observed to be turned on during the day. The cooling tower has been painted with an orange strip near the roof to match the livery of the existing NSL station. In addition, the transition of doors to shutters was implemented at the NSL concourse as part of the A&A works to better improve commuter flow for the future transfer between the Downtown Line.

Photos in this update were collectively taken over February and March. With this post. the 1st Quarter updates for the Downtown Line 2 conclude.

March 16 - Completed Entrance with skylights covered

Stevens Superstructure

Upon completion of hacking of the temporary diaphragm wall, the slip road at Stevens have been permanently realigned back in Christmas last year. The remaining structure along exterior face of the entrance has been cast. M&E works are currently underway within the superstructure. The new drain culvert that will run parallel to the entrance is being formed too. Architectural works should commence around the middle of the year.

Due to the tight space constraint at the site, reinstatement works which includes the reopening of Robin Walk as well as the permanent bus bay is only expected to take place nearer to the completion of the project, in the later part of the year.

Photos in this update were taken on March 13.

Downtown Line entrance to the Stevens Station

Gardens Superstructures

The steel roof of the Botanic Gardens station entrance was assembled back in Christmas last year, shortly after the previous update. Steel L-shaped fixtures for the sheltered linkways leading from the entrance, as well as the drop off bay have also been constructed over the past month. Both ventilation building and cooling tower have been painted brown, as believed to be the station's themed livery. The cooling tower has been cladded as well.

Reinstatement works have also commenced, with the footpath alongside the future widened road constructed. The road should be widened by the 3rd quarter.

March 16 - Aerial view of the 3 completed superstructures