SINGAPORE – The Woodleigh bus interchange in the new Bidadari housing estate is expected to be completed by the end of 2024 after a delay of at least three years.

The interchange in the Woodleigh Village integrated development was delayed due to “significant engineering challenges” and the Covid-19 pandemic, the Housing Board said in response to queries from The Straits Times. It was initially slated for completion in 2019, based on project plans seen and reported by ST in 2014.

HDB on Feb 25 clarified that based on its eventual construction contract, the project was expected to be ready in 2021.

Construction work on the first underground bus interchange connected to HDB flats is about 85 per cent done. It is expected to be completed by end-2024, barring any further delays, an HDB spokeswoman added.

The integrated development, which was launched for sale in November 2016, comprises 330 HDB flats linked to the bus interchange, a hawker centre and Woodleigh MRT station.

It was scheduled for completion in 2021 but faced pandemic-related delays, and its final blocks were completed in November 2022.

Woodleigh Village residents that ST spoke to – many of whom collected the keys to their flats in December 2022 – had raised concerns about noise and dust arising from ongoing construction works and a lack of sheltered walkways in the precinct after moving in.

Ms Michele See, 35, told ST in December 2023 that she thought the footpath from the development to Woodleigh Mall, which passes the bus interchange construction site, could be dangerous for pedestrians.

The student care centre founder flagged heavy vehicles moving in and out of the entrance to the construction site, which she said was right beside the path.

Software developer Chew Chong Qiang, 31, said: “When it rains, there’s no sheltered route to the mall and MRT station, which can be quite inconvenient, and the path gets slippery.”

A sheltered linkway connecting the hawker centre and Woodleigh Mall opened on Feb 19. Ms See said this was “long overdue” but welcomed.

She added that the various construction sites in the project result in dusty common areas, and the construction noise disrupts her three-year-old son’s sleep.

“These issues are to be expected in a new estate, but I hope all these works will be finished soon as it has been more than a year since I collected my keys.”

Asked about the development’s delays, an HDB spokeswoman said the Woodleigh Village project presented “significant engineering challenges” as it is integrated with an underground bus interchange, the existing Woodleigh MRT station, and a new hawker centre.

She noted that extensive work and coordination between different contractors was needed to skirt or divert existing underground services – such as water, gas and electricity pipes, sewers and fibre optic cables – and ensure that these were not interrupted during construction.

“The diversion of these service pipes is necessary before HDB can resume building and excavation works for the bus interchange and other underground facilities such as the pedestrian underpass to the MRT station. This has further delayed the project timeline,” she said.

HDB worked with the contractor to carry out excavation and building works in phases, and took a cautious approach to ensure that the nearby MRT structures and vital service pipes were not affected, the spokeswoman added.

She said HDB had prioritised the construction of flats over common precinct areas to let buyers collect their keys and move into their homes “as early as possible”.

As at January 2024, buyers have collected keys for 319 of 326 booked units.

Housewife Mira Yunos, 32, said she felt resigned to the dust and noise after she moved into her three-room flat in April 2023.

Her unit overlooks construction at the roof garden on top of the multi-storey carpark which links all three blocks in the development. “I have to keep my windows closed at all times,” she said.

Ms Mira added that a kerb between the lift lobby and the sloped main road at her block obstructs residents with strollers and wheelchairs.

“As there is no ramp, I have to carry my son’s stroller over the kerb. It’s a hassle, especially when it rains because I have to juggle an umbrella while lifting the stroller,” she said.

Residents also highlighted that the Woodleigh Village Hawker Centre has not opened. It was slated to be ready in the second half of 2023.

Retired safety officer Superamaniam N.K, 74, said he takes the train to either Serangoon or Little India to buy food and groceries, as many of the amenities in the precinct are not ready.

“I’m waiting for the hawker centre to open, so it’s easier for me to get cheap food,” he added.

In a written parliamentary reply in November 2023, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said the hawker centre in Woodleigh is projected to open in the first half of 2024.

HDB’s spokeswoman said more than 70 per cent, or 6,418, of the 8,872 flats in Bidadari, have been delivered.

The remaining 2,454 flats are on track to be completed by 2025.

The Woodleigh district, which consists of 2,685 flats across three Build-To-Order projects, including 312 rental units, is the first in Bidadari to have all its flats completed.

More shops are expected to open at Woodleigh Hillside progressively from the second quarter of 2024, the spokeswoman said.

Over at Alkaff LakeView and Alkaff Vista, which were completed in 2019, 21 out of 22 precinct shops have commenced operations, she added.

The Alkaff district is expected to be completed by mid-2024, and four more projects in the Bartley Heights and Park Edge districts by mid-2025.

Correction note: An earlier version of this article stated that the Woodleigh bus interchange is expected to be completed by end-2024, after a nearly five-year delay. This was based on project plans seen and reported by ST in 2014. HDB has clarified that based on the eventual construction contract, the project was slated for completion in 2021 instead of 2019.