Travellers advised to defer non-essential travel to Johor as heavy rain worsens traffic at land checkpoints

SINGAPORE: Travellers have been advised to defer non-essential travel to Johor this weekend as continuous heavy traffic is expected at the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints.

Since the start of the March school holidays, both checkpoints have been experiencing very heavy arrival and departure traffic, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Friday (Mar 21). 

“The incessant rain over the last two days due to the monsoon surge in Singapore has also added to the traffic build-up at the land checkpoints,” it added.

Departing car travellers and motorcyclists have had to wait over two hours for immigration clearance.

In addition to advising travellers to defer non-essential travel if possible, ICA also warned motorists of reduced visibility on rainy days and urged them to avoid queue-cutting as there have been cases of road accidents over the last two days.  

“Those who wish to continue with their journey should expect delays and are advised to check the traffic conditions before embarking on their journey,” the agency added.

In a traffic update at about 9.30am on Friday, ICA noted heavy departure traffic at Woodlands Checkpoint due to tailback from Malaysia. 

Singapore and parts of Johor have seen persistent rain from Wednesday due to a monsoon surge. 

The monsoon surge is expected to last until Friday, bringing moderate to heavy rain across Singapore, the Meteorological Service Singapore said on Monday.

Malaysia’s met service said continuous heavy rain is expected to persist over Johor - including Johor Bahru, Kulai and Mersing - on Friday. 

Flooding in the southern state has displaced scores of people, with at least 10,000 evacuated as of Friday morning, according to The Star. 

Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi said on Thursday that the rainfall over the past few days was “out of the ordinary”, exceeding 150mm compared with the average of 20mm. 

The heavy rain, on top of the high tide phenomenon of about 3m, caused more severe flooding than expected in a few areas, he said on Facebook. 

Floodwaters also snarled traffic, leading to hours-long waits for many motorists in Johor Bahru on Thursday evening.