Traffic smoother on MCE yesterday as many people took the day offIT WAS a smooth journey for motorists on the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) on New Year's Eve, a far cry from the traffic snarls that plagued the new superhighway on its second day of operation on Monday.24小時迷你倉While motorists found themselves stuck in traffic on Monday morning for up to two hours, traffic on Central Boulevard - a major choke point - and nearby roads flowed freely yesterday morning.This, after the Land Transport Authority (LTA) expanded the boulevard from two to four lanes on Monday to cope with the heavy traffic entering the Central Business District from this exit.Observers attributed the improved situation to several factors - office workers who took the day off, the expanded Central Boulevard, and motorists being more aware of the changes and using alternative routes.Still, they say the litmus test will likely come next Monday, when most people return to work.Lawyer Serene Soh, 45, decided to exit at North Bridge Road instead of Central Boulevard to get from Bukit Timah to her office in Marina Bay after hearing about the jams on Monday.The journey was smooth, she said, but added: "Many people are away now, half of my office is on leave. I'm keeping my fingers cro迷你倉旺角sed."An LTA spokesman said yesterday's traffic volume was about 60 per cent of the norm on a typical weekday in the area.More electronic signs will be put up along the 10-lane MCE, and these will be more destination-specific, she added.For instance, signs will tell motorists heading to Shenton Way to use the Maxwell Road exit, and more lane guidance will be given to motorists entering the MCE from East Coast Parkway (ECP).Monday's jams happened primarily at several points along the expressway: the exits leading to and at Central Boulevard, and the eastbound tunnel near the ECP and Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway intersection.This led some motorists to urge the authorities to reinstate a portion of the old ECP that has been closed, but LTA explained that the closure must take place first before Central Boulevard can be straightened and expanded into a full five-lane road.This will take place by the third quarter of this year.Banking programme director Santosh Basker, 35, said he took 45 minutes to travel from Bedok to his office in Marina on Monday morning, but only 15 minutes yesterday. "People are just getting to know the routes," he said. "My only concern is that it's not a real working day. Next Monday will be the real test."roysim@sph.com.sgmini storage
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