SINGAPORE – Previously slated to fully reopen in December 2023 after a landslide partially damaged it, the Ulu Pandan Park Connector will now open completely for public use only in mid-2024.

The Housing Board said on Dec 29, in response to The Straits Times’ queries, that it had been closely monitoring the soil condition of the site to ensure the “most optimal soil stability levels before building up facilities” in the area.

Citing reasons such as heavy rainfall, additional stabilisation and strengthening work for greater safety, as well as refinements to the design of precinct facilities, HDB said that more time was needed to complete the reconstruction work, which began in December 2022.

First, the board noted that the “unusually heavy rainfall” from March to June 2023 and in November 2023 led to “difficult site conditions” that slowed the progress of the works.

During and after rain showers, “additional mitigating measures and resources” had to be put in place to ensure proper treatment to cleanse the silty water before it was discharged into public drains, said HDB.

To reduce the impact of noise and dust on residents who had already moved into the nearby new Clementi NorthArc Build-To-Order (BTO) development, HDB added that it had to limit noisy construction work to working hours.

Second, additional slope stabilisation measures were put in place, and a wider stretch of the slopes was strengthened to enhance safety.

Third, HDB refined the design of planned precinct facilities in the area for added safety.

For example, ramps and staircases were moved to other sections to distribute the weight on the slope more evenly.

In September 2022, a landslide at Clementi NorthArc near Commonwealth Avenue West – where a basketball court and precinct pavilion would be located – damaged a section of the Ulu Pandan Park Connector and displaced a massive amount of soil into the Ulu Pandan canal, raising flood concerns.

HDB then carried out works to mitigate slope failure and flood risks, on top of stabilising the slope.

The current phase of work includes the reconstruction of the affected slope within the Clementi NorthArc BTO site and the reinstatement of the damaged stretch along the south bank of the Ulu Pandan Park Connector.

Works for the eastern end of the park connector – spanning the length from Block 211A to the roof garden at Block 210C – were completed in December 2023.

HDB and the relevant agencies will be conducting the necessary inspections before reopening it in late January or early February 2024.

The remaining segment of the park connector where the landslide took place will be open for public use by mid-2024 as work on it is more extensive, said HDB.

The affected precinct facilities along this stretch of the park connector, which include a multi-purpose court, hard court, precinct pavilion and the drop-off point next to Block 211A, will also be completed at the same time.

In November 2023, HDB informed Clementi NorthArc residents about the delay via notices at the estate’s lift lobbies, while the National Parks Board similarly put up notices detailing the updated reopening dates of the affected stretch.

Users of the Ulu Pandan Park Connector told ST that they have been inconvenienced by the partial closure for the last one year and three months.

Clementi NorthArc resident Goh Jinsen, 36, said accessing the park connector via alternative entrances is “very inconvenient” compared with the nearest entrance at Block 211 – currently blocked by the closure – which links his estate directly to the park connector via a five-minute walk.

The sales manager noted that the walk to the other entrances requires him to wait at traffic light crossings and walk for up to 20 minutes. Due to the inconvenience, Mr Goh plans to wait for the park connector to fully reopen before he uses it again.

“I am numb to this as I have already waited more than six years for my flat. If (the authorities) make sure the park connector is of sound structure, I would say it is an acceptable delay,” he said.

As at Dec 20, 2023, 1,132 of 1,160 – or 97.6 per cent – Clementi NorthArc residents have collected the keys to their flats, according to HDB.

Similarly, cyclist Sylvester Chong, 38, has had to re-route his weekly ride from his home in Jurong East to City Hall.

While the diversion causes the assistant programme manager to stop and start at multiple traffic light junctions, he acknowledged the importance of the works to ensure public safety, as he would “not want the ground to slide under (him)”.

Ms Samantha Choo, 28-year-old resident at the nearby Clementi Gateway HDB development, has not been using the park connector “as much as (she) would like to” because it adds 10 more minutes to her travel time when the start-up founder visits her parents’ home in Sunset Way.

Engineering experts whom ST spoke to said the delay to the restoration work is “measured” and “reasonable”.

Associate Professor Leong Eng Choon from Nanyang Technological University’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, who specialises in research on rainfall-induced slope failures and remediation measures, said the most difficult part of the restoration is to ensure that remediation works take into account the safety of surrounding areas.

Citing “unusual wet weather” and Covid-19 pandemic-related challenges – such as delayed projects and manpower shortage – in the construction industry as contributing factors, Prof Leong said that the extended duration of 1½ years is reasonable “given the circumstances”, even though most slope strengthening measures typically take six months to a year to be completed.

Mr David Ng, chairman of the civil and structural engineering technical committee at the Institution of Engineers, Singapore, said that slope reconstruction works are more complex due to on-site constraints.