Fallen tree on Nicoll Highway: Two of three blocked lanes reopened, bus services back to normal
Traffic was backed up along Nicoll Highway towards Guillemard Road for several hours.
A fallen tree is seen blocking part of Nicoll Highway on Mar 7, 2024. (Images: Facebook/Patrick Tan, Aerulz Asmue)
SINGAPORE: A section of Nicoll Highway was closed for several hours on Thursday (Mar 7) after a tree fell across the road near the junction with Java Road, blocking three lanes.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, at about 6.45pm, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that there was an "obstacle on Nicoll Highway (towards Guillemard) after Java Road".
"Nicoll Highway closed after Java Road," LTA added.
In a subsequent post at 7.11pm, the authority said that there had been an "accident" on the same stretch of the road.
At 7.41pm, LTA said that the closure of Nicoll Highway in the direction of Guillemard Road had been extended until after Middle Road.
As of 9.40pm, the middle and right lanes of the road had reopened to traffic, but in another post on X, LTA advised motorists to avoid its left lane.
Footage of the incident posted on TikTok showed traffic at a standstill with branches of a tree completely blocking one side of Nicoll Highway. Traffic, however, appeared to be moving normally in the other direction.
Also posting on X on Thursday evening, SBS Transit said that several of its bus services in the area had been diverted.
"Please be informed that Services 10, 10e, 14, 14e, 16, 70/70M, 196 and 196e are being diverted from Nicoll Highway (towards Guillemard Road) with 3 bus stops skipped (80151, 80161 and 80211) due to a fallen tree," it said.
SBS said in an update at 9.50pm that all bus services in the area were "back to normal operations".
Nicoll Highway is one of the main roads leading to the National Stadium, where pop star Taylor Swift is currently holding her sold-out Singapore Eras Tour concerts. Swift resumed her shows on Thursday after a two-day break, with her sixth and final performance taking place on Saturday.
CNA has contacted the authorities for more information.