Jurong East Bus Interchange

On Page 1:

• Introduction
• Bus Services
• Berth Allocation
• Gallery

Gallery

Construction

History (1985 – 2020):

Jurong East Bus Interchange opened on Sunday, 30th June 1985, located at 155 Jurong East Street 13 and opposite CPF Jurong Building (northwest of Jurong East MRT station). The airy and spacious interchange housed many bus services were transferred from Teban Gardens Bus Terminal and several which were rerouted from Jurong Bus Interchange. Apart from benefiting commuters living in Jurong East or working in nearby industrial areas, the interchange also catered to cross-border commuters taking buses to Malaysia, via the Second Link.

In the 2000s, initial concept plans released for the Jurong Lake District revealed plans for a new Integrated Transport Hub (ITH) at Jurong East. Located at the existing site of Jurong East Bus Interchange and underneath the NSL/EWL viaducts, the ITH would form part of an integrated commercial and transport development northwest of Jurong East MRT Station.

These plans were released as surrounding plots of land were being tendered out to private developers. The construction of Jurong East Temporary Bus Interchange (Reference No.: VT330) was awarded at a sum of S$5.98 million in February 2011. Jurong West Street 12, which formerly passed underneath Jurong East MRT Station, was expunged in tandem with redevelopment works.

On 17 December 2011, Jurong East Interchange was closed and operations shifted to the nearby Jurong East Temporary Interchange, located west of the MRT station and opposite the shopping mall JCube. The temporary interchange was expected to last several years while the old bus interchange site was redeveloped.

However, plans for the future ITH underneath Jurong East’s viaducts failed to materialize due to reasons unknown. At the same time, plans were underway to build the Jurong Region Line at Jurong East, and Land Transport Authority (LTA)’s plans for a multi-storey headquarters complex next to Buona Vista MRT station was shelved due to cost concerns. Eventually, in April 2017, it was announced that both the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and LTA would be housed in a new integrated complex to be built next to Jurong East MRT station, on the very site occupied by the Temporary Bus Interchange which opened 2011. In addition, the new integrated complex was to include Jurong East Integrated Transport Hub, formally acknowledging the change of plans regarding the siting of Jurong East ITH.

As a result, a had to be built to replace Jurong East Temporary Bus Interchange (2011–2020), which had to be cleared for redevelopment work. This was built across the road from Jurong East MRT, bordered by Jurong Town Hall Road, Jurong Gateway Road, JTC Summit, JCube and Jurong Regional Library.

To facilitate the construction, Gateway Link was closed and Jurong East Street 12 was widened from two lanes to three lanes in each direction. Construction of the second interim bus interchange (Design and Construction of Bus Interchange and its Associated Works at Jurong Gateway Road | Reference No.: DE108) was awarded at a cost of S$20.89 million to Kim Seng Heng Engineering Construction (Pte) Ltd / DP Engineers Pte Ltd in December 2017. The expected completion date was August 2019.

Following construction delays further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the second interim bus interchange (simply named Jurong East Bus Interchange) only opened on 6 December 2020. The relocated interim bus interchange has dropped the use of the “Temporary Bus Interchange” namesake, similar to that of Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange which opened in December 2018, possibly to avoid connotations of having to replace these facilities with permanent bus interchanges (i.e. Integrated Transport Hubs) in the near future.

Due to its small size, not all existing bus services were able to be relocated to the new interchange – Bus Services 78 and 79 only stops outside the interchange, along Jurong Gateway Road. A 230-metre sheltered pedestrian overpass connected the relocated interchange to Jurong East MRT Station.

In addition to Jurong East Bus Interchange relocating to an ITH around 2027, the LTA also planned to build another bus interchange nearby at Venture Drive. The construction contract was awarded in March 2020, and scheduled for completion by 2023. More details at: Jurong Town Hall Bus Interchange.

Construction of Jurong East Integrated Transport Hub is scheduled to start in Q2 2021 and expected to complete in 2027.

Commuter Familiarisation

Prior to the relocation of Jurong East Bus Interchange, an open house was planned for commuters to familarise themselves with the new location. However, the posters for the event which were shared on Tower Transit’s social media platforms on 17 November 2020 were removed shortly after. The revised poster was released on 25 November 2020, with updated dates for the familarisation.

Special Bus Advertisement

Tower Transit pasted a special advertisement on some of their buses to promote the shifting of Jurong East Bus Interchange.

References

• MOT, LTA plan joint office in Jurong East – Straits Times
• Relocation of Jurong East Bus Interchange from 6 December 2020 – Land Transport Authority

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