CTE tunnel temporarily closed after tree topples near Orchard Road exit
A photo from Facebook group SG Road Vigilante shows a tree lying across the lanes of the CTE with a white car trapped in its branches.
SINGAPORE — The Central Expressway (CTE) tunnel was temporarily closed on Wednesday (July 19) morning after a tree toppled onto the road.
In a tweet at 9.18am, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that the CTE tunnel heading towards Ayer Rajah Expressway was closed before the Orchard Road exit.
Photos circulating on Facebook show a tree that had toppled over, obstructing the passage of cars on the three-lane road.
In one photo, a white car can be seen pinned among the tree branches.
In a video on the Roads.sg Facebook page, a long line of vehicles can be seen along the stretch of the expressway in heavy rain.
An LTA update at 10.36am said that the obstruction had caused congestion till the Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 exit. By this time, however, vehicles were able to pass through lanes 1 and 2, LTA said in response to TODAY's queries.
As of 4.30pm, all lanes had been reopened.
In response to TODAY's queries, a National Parks Board (NParks) spokesperson said it was alerted to the uprooted tree about 9.30am on Wednesday amid heavy rain and strong gusts of wind of up to 65km an hour.
The Senegal mahogany tree was situated beside the CTE on state land between Kramat Road and Cairnhill Circle.
The obstruction was cleared by 10.30am and no injuries were reported, the spokesperson added.
NParks has an extensive program for monitoring trees, including the use of surveillance technology.
