We refer to letters in the Straits Times on last week’s Paterson Road oil spill.

We would like to clarify that the first tweet from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to alert motorists to the closure of the affected stretch of Paterson Road was at 3.48am, not 8.15am as reported by The Straits Times.  At the same time, we issued advisories on all our EMAS electronic signboards leading to the city, and broadcast repeated traffic advisory messages on radio. Directional and information signs were also put up ahead of the Paterson Road closure area to guide affected motorists.  Throughout the day, we gave regular updates to the public, and used all available media channels to inform and guide motorists and the public who needed to travel through the affected area.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) worked on site to clear the spill. When the agencies determined that they could not completely remove the oil for a safe road re-opening, we decided to re-surface the road to make it totally safe for use.  As such, the affected stretch could only be re-opened at 4.55pm.

We will review how we can further improve the response of government agencies to such incidents, and would like to thank those affected by this incident for their patience and understanding.

Helen Lim (Ms)
Director, Media Relations
Land Transport Authority