BKE road shoulder flooded due to debris clogging drain gratings
There is a reason Guns N' Roses has a song called November Rain and not, say, October Rain.
As Singapore continues to be hit by heavy rain almost every day lately, a TikToker shared a 17-second video of a car ploughing through the floodwater on the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) on Monday (Nov 7).
The TikToker, whose user name is BxW_Vezel21, said it happened on the BKE towards the Seletar Expressway after the Mandai exit.
The video has more than 100,000 views.
@bxw_vezel21 #fyp #fyps #singaporetiktok #singapore #driving #flooded #highway ♬ 芭比q了 - 邓家忠
One netizen commented: "Wow. Wet weather is getting more intense. Seems to be a global phenomenon."
Another joked: "Need to invest in a sampan already. Rich ones can buy a speedboat or ferry."
The Land Transport Authority first warned of flood risk on the BKE that day at 7.20pm.
Flood Risk on BKE (towards Woodlands) after Mandai Rd Entrance. Avoid lanes 3 and 4
— LTATrafficNews (@LTAtrafficnews) November 7, 2022
PUB said on Wednesday a 100m stretch of Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) was flooded on Monday evening because the drain gratings were clogged.
It was found that the grating of the drop-inlet chambers - which are installed beside road kerbs to channel rain water from the road to the drainage system - in that part of the expressway were covered with silt and dead leaves, preventing stormwater from flowing through effectively during the heavy rain.
The national water agency said that it had received feedback from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) at around 7.20pm on Monday that rainwater had accumulated along a 100m stretch of the BKE road shoulder near Kranji Exit 8.
It added that traffic on the other lanes remained passable.
Both LTA and PUB promptly mobilised their crews to the location to provide assistance to motorists.
PUB has since worked with the National Environment Agency to clear the chokage.
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