Ayer Rajah Expressway

Expressway in Singapore

Ayer Rajah Expressway
Lebuhraya Ayer Rajah (Malay) 亚逸拉惹高速公路 (Chinese) ஆயர் ராஜா விரவுச்சாலை (Tamil)
Ayer Rajah Expressway is labelled in single yellow line
Route information

Part of AH143

Length	26.5 km (16.5 mi)
Existed	1983–present
History	First section completed in 1988, last section completed in 1998
Major junctions
West end	Tuas Checkpoint (Tuas Second Link)
Major intersections	PIE, ORRS (Portsdown Avenue), CTE
East end	Keppel (MCE)

Location
Country	Singapore
Regions	Tuas, Jurong, Clementi, West Coast, Bukit Merah

Highway system
Expressways of Singapore

The Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) extends from the western end of the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) in the south of Singapore^[1]^[2]^[3] to Tuas in the west near the Tuas Second Link to Malaysia. Together with the MCE and the East Coast Parkway (ECP), it forms a second east-west link to complement the role played by the Pan Island Expressway (PIE).

History

Construction on the expressway commenced in 1983, with the first two phases completed by 1988. This section involved the widening of several existing roads along the way, such as Ayer Rajah Road and Upper Ayer Rajah Road, as well as the construction of what was then the longest road viaduct, the Keppel Viaduct, from where the eastern end of the expressway commences. The road extends from Alexandra Road until Keppel Road. It ends at Teban Flyover along Jurong Town Hall Road.

With the construction beginning from 5 December 1993, the existing Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim from Tuas West Drive to Jurong Town Hall Road was widened and merged into Ayer Rajah Expressway which was opened on 18 November 1997. The expressway was extended to Tuas from Teban Flyover in conjunction with the opening of the Tuas Second Link to Johor on 2 January 1998. This construction, which followed the alignment of Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim, involved the expansion of the existing road to match with the width of the rest of the AYE, construction of "filter" roads on both sides of the expressway (which eventually took the name of Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim), and the building of five flyovers and two underpasses. It meets up with the PIE at the Tuas Flyover.

The eastern terminus of the AYE used to continue onto the western terminus of the East Coast Parkway (ECP). After the MCE was opened on 29 December 2013, the ECP was truncated and the MCE had taken over parts of the route, which connects AYE to the Kallang–Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) and ECP.^[4]

Proposed realignment

During the 2014 Singapore National Day rally, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke of the possibility of realigning the stretch of the AYE near Jurong Lake Gardens south to allow for more space to build housing in the area.^[5] Government agencies later further explained that such a move would "integrate the Pandan Reservoir area with Jurong Lake District to form a larger and more cohesive development area".^[6]^[7]

National Development Minister Desmond Lee gave an update on this proposed realignment on 30 June 2024, sharing that "agencies are currently studying various options, including how we can make it easier for residents to move between Teban Gardens and Jurong Lake District", with more information to be made available when ready.^[8]

Gallery

Local bus heading west on Ayer Rajah Rd - 1945
The Clementi section of the Ayer Rajah Expressway
Another view
Keppel Road
A video taken from a car travelling west in the direction of Tuas, and exiting at Exit 9 (Clementi Road)

List of exits

Location	Interchange	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Bukit Merah	Keppel Viaduct	–	MCE	Eastern terminus; expressway continues as Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE)
		2A	West Coast Highway and Telok Blangah Road	Signed as exits 2A (westbound) and 2B (eastbound)
		2B	Keppel Road	Signed as exits 2A (westbound) and 2B (eastbound)
	Radin Mas Flyover	2C	CTE	Eastbound entrance and westbound exit only; access to southern terminus of Central Expressway (CTE)
	Lower Delta Flyover	3	Lower Delta Road, Jalan Bukit Merah and Telok Blangah Road
Queenstown	Gillman Flyover	6	Alexandra Road	Eastbound entrance and westbound exit only
	Portsdown Flyover	7A	Normanton Park, Science Park Drive, Portsdown Avenue, one-north Avenue and Queensway	Signed as exits 7A (westbound) and 7B (eastbound)
	Portsdown Flyover	7B		Signed as exits 7A (westbound) and 7B (eastbound)
	Buona Vista Flyover	8	South Buona Vista Road and North Buona Vista Road
	University Flyover	9	Clementi Road and National University of Singapore (westbound and eastbound) Singapore Polytechnic (eastbound only)
Clementi	Clementi Flyover	10A	Clementi Avenue 2 and West Coast Road	Signed as exits 10A (westbound) and 10B (eastbound)
	Clementi Flyover	10B	Clementi Avenue 2	Signed as exits 10A (westbound) and 10B (eastbound)
	Pandan Flyover	11	Clementi Avenue 6 and PIE (westbound and eastbound) West Coast Way (westbound only)	Access to Pan Island Expressway (PIE) via Clementi Avenue 6
Jurong East	Teban Flyover	13	Jurong Town Hall Road
	–	14	Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim and Penjeru Road	Westbound entrance and exit only
	Corporation Flyover	15A	Corportation Road and Jurong Port Road	Signed as exits 15A (westbound) and 17 (eastbound)
Jurong West	–	15B	Yuan Ching Road	Eastbound entrance and exit only
Boon Lay	Jurong Hill Flyover	17	Jalan Boon Lay, Jurong Pier Road and Jurong Island (westbound) Jurong Pier Road, Jalan Boon Lay, Jurong Port Road and Corporation Road (eastbound)	Eastbound exit serves as eastbound counterpart to exit 15A
Boon Lay	Pioneer Flyover	18	Pioneer Road North, Pioneer Road and Benoi Sector (westbound) First Lok Yang Road, Pioneer Road and Pioneer Road North (eastbound)
Pioneer	Benoi Flyover	20	Benoi Road (westbound and eastbound) Gul Way (eastbound only)
Pioneer	Tuas Flyover	22	PIE, KJE Tuas Road (westbound) PIE, KJE Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim (eastbound)	Access to westbound terminus of PIE and Kranji Expressway (KJE); access to latter via PIE
Tuas	Tuas West Underpass	24	Tuas Avenue 8 and Tuas West Road	Signed as exits 24 (westbound) and 26A (eastbound)
	Tuas West Underpass	26A	Tuas West Road	Signed as exits 24 (westbound) and 26A (eastbound)
	Tuas Checkpoint Viaduct	26B	Tuas West Drive	No eastbound exit
	Tuas Checkpoint Viaduct	–	Second Link	Western terminus; expressway continues as Second Link
Incomplete access Route transition

References

^ "Speech By Mr Raymond Lim At The Visit To LTA's Intelligent Transport Systems Centre (ITSC) on 27 July 2007". MOT. 27 July 2007. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
^ "Government Approves the Construction of MCE". LTA. 27 July 2007. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
^ "Marina expressway to be ready by year-end". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
^ "Marina Coastal Expressway opens". Today (website). 29 December 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
^ "National Day Rally 2014". Prime Minister's Office (Singapore). 17 August 2014. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
^ Tan, Christopher (23 August 2014). "The dollars and sense of realigning the Ayer Rajah Expressway". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
^ "First phase of Jurong Lake Gardens to be complete by 2017". Today (website). 18 August 2014. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
^ Ng, Keng Gene (30 June 2024). "New park connector along Sungei Pandan to be ready by March 2025". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.