Heavy traffic expected at Woodlands, Tuas Checkpoints during upcoming September school holiday period: ICA

SINGAPORE: Heavy traffic through the Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints is expected during the upcoming September school holiday period from Sep 2 to 11, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Wednesday (Aug 31).

Travellers should expect delays and are advised to adjust their travel plans, where possible, to avoid being caught in traffic congestion, it added.

"We seek travellers’ understanding and cooperation to be patient, observe traffic rules, maintain lane discipline, and cooperate with officers on-site when using the land checkpoints."

At the peak of the September school holiday in 2019, travellers departing and arriving by car via the land checkpoints had to wait up to one-and-a-half hours before they were cleared through immigration, said ICA.

Additionally, ICA said that traffic flow through Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints is gradually returning to pre-COVID-19 volume with "more than 313,000 travellers clearing through both checkpoints per day over the recent weekend".

This surpassed the last highest weekend travel volume during the National Day holiday, which saw 302,000 travellers per day, said ICA.

The authority advised travellers to factor in additional time for immigration clearance and avoid the following peak hours during the school holiday period:

Departing Singapore

• Fridays (Sep 2 and 9) and Sundays (Sep 4 and 11), 6pm to 11.59pm
• Monday (Sep 5), 10am to 12pm
• Saturdays (Sep 3 and 10), 6am to 9am, 6pm to 11.59pm

Arriving in Singapore

• Saturdays (Sep 3 and 10) and weekdays 10pm to 11.59pm 
• Sundays (Sep 4 and 11), 6pm to 11.59pm

ICA said that it will take the necessary measures to facilitate immigration clearance without compromising security, adding that checkpoint officers monitor traffic conditions in real-time to ensure optimal deployment of resources. 

"We also work with the Traffic Police to ensure road discipline at the critical junctions leading to the land checkpoints." 

Travellers leaving via Woodlands Checkpoint should note that the upgrading works on the arrival immigration car booths have been ongoing at Malaysia's Bangunan Sultan Iskandar since Jun 6. During this period, booths that are undergoing upgrading will not be operational.

ICA also advised motorist to check the traffic situation at the land checkpoints through the Land Transport Authority (LTA)’s One Motoring website or via the Expressway Monitoring & Advisory System (EMAS) installed along the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) respectively.

Motorists can also get updates on the traffic situation at both land checkpoints through ICA’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.