J102 - Peeking at the progress within Tengah

 

27 November 2022 - A viaduct pier with the crosshead already cast is visible beyond the BTO flats
currently under construction along the eastern stretch of Tengah new town.

It was a drab, rainy morning. The build-to-order (BTO) flats have risen quicker than the progress on the Jurong Region Line (JRL) within Tengah is visible. But from a high vantage point, just barely visible to the eye, was a view of some of the work for the line within Tengah. Mostly out of reach at the moment, work has been going on steadily to get viaduct piers at the southern end of contract J102 ready. As they progress further north, they get much trickier as the line's branches merge at the centerpiece station of the line - Tengah.

27 November 2022 - A view of two viaduct piers, one still with the crossheads being cast.

27 November 2022 - Viaduct piers with the crosshead being cast.

27 November 2022 - Several viaduct piers completed, pending construction of the crossheads, can
be seen in the distance behind the mess of cranes & BTO flats.

From this vantage point, completed piers can be seen dotting the far side of the town. Its a game of squint and peak trying to find these piers - one has to carefully make out the shapes from the towering cranes and distinguish colours between BTO and MRT. But it can be done and the results are spectacular. Through careful observation, the use of telescopic zoom and with a keen eye, one can capture the fleeting moments of progress before they get blocked by the next level of apartment construction.

27 November 2022 - A view of viaduct pier construction from the south.

27 November 2022 - An overview of the pier construction progress.

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27 November 2022 - A close up view of the pier construction. The launch gantry truss for contract
J102 can be seen to the right of the photo, partially obscured by the BTO block.

27 November 2022 - A close up view of piers with the contract J108 casting yard in the background.

So just what exactly is the progress within Tengah new town then? From what can be seen, it appears that from the south, there are now approximately 10 rows of piers standing. Two piers also have their crossheads cast while a third will follow suit soon. Towards the east where the branch towards Jurong East diverges, stand 8 piers at various stages of construction - 3 are fully cast and 5 are on their way to being cast too.

27 November 2022 - A view of the piers under construction seen from
the south. The piers cut directly across Tengah new town.

27 November 2022 - A close up view of the piers.

27 November 2022 - A view of the piers across Tengah, Hong Kah station can be seen in the
mid-ground on the left side.

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27 November 2022

27 November 2022 - A view towards Tengah station and the future in-fill station located between
Tengah and Choa Chu Kang West stations.

27 November 2022 - More launch gantry truss frames visible in the work site, below some of the
yellow gantry cranes for HDB.

27 November 2022 - Piers for the Jurong East branch line.

27 November 2022 - An overview of pier construction seen from the west.

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With the discovery of the new vantage point, it is exhilarating to catch glimpses of the progress of construction in the difficult to access zone. It also confirms that contract J108, albeit being part of phase 2 of the line, is indeed the first contract to erect a viaduct launch gantry. There is one gantry on site at contract J102 as well, so it should be a matter of time before that gets put in place as well.

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