1.     Residents in the north-east residential estates will stand to benefit with the completion of a new road link, Buangkok East Drive that connects Buangkok Drive to the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE).

2.     The new 1.32km road link, which consists of a 200m vehicular bridge across Sungei Serangoon (Buangkok Bridge) and a flyover over KPE (Buangkok Flyover), will be officially opened to traffic on 22 March 2009, from 5pm onwards.

3.     With the completion of this new road link, residents in Sengkang and Punggol new towns will enjoy a direct connection with the KPE via Buangkok East Drive, cutting travelling time to the city by up to 7 minutes.

4.     Construction works for the $33.92 million project started in early 2006 and was undertaken by Hock Lian Seng Infrastructure (Pte) Ltd.

5.     To celebrate the opening, more than 1000 residents from nearby estates of Punggol, Sengkang and Hougang took a walk through the new Buangkok Bridge, which over looks the scenic Sungei Serangoon riverfront early this morning.

6.     Adviser for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and Minister for Defence, Mr Teo Chee Hean joined the residents for the opening ceremony of the newly completed road link. Mr Teo said, "Residents in Sengkang and Hougang will benefit greatly from this new road link as they now have a direct connection to the KPE and the city. They don't have to take the longer route via the TPE to the KPE. This will ease traffic flow on the TPE during peak hours and benefit TPE users living in Punggol and Pasir Ris."

7.     Mr Kang Wee Ping, a 30-year-old engineer who stays along Rivervale Link, has been eagerly anticipating for this new direct road link to open. Mr Kang, who uses KPE daily said, "Since the KPE opened in September last year, it has been much easier to drive to the city from Sengkang. But with this new road link, it means that it will be even easier, as I no longer need to drive through Hougang Avenue 7 and Tampines Road, before going onto the KPE."

8.     "The opening of the KPE last year has brought greater connectivity between the north-eastern sector and the city. With the opening of this new road link, the connectivity will be even closer, as the residents here can now make use of the road link to drive directly to the KPE," said LTA Chief Executive, Mr Yam Ah Mee.

9.     Please refer to Annex A for the location map of the new road link and Annex B for photographs.