Outer Ring Road System

The Outer Ring Road System, or more commonly known as ORRS, is a network of major arterial roads in Singapore that forms a ring road through the towns along the city fringe. The ORRS is a semi-expressway, just like the West Coast Highway. Since 1994, roads along the ORRS have been upgraded in stages to provide a smoother route to travel across the island. Roads and interchanges along the ORRS are constantly being upgraded to cater to the ever increasing traffic demand. It starts as Portsdown Avenue in Queenstown and ends as Tampines Avenue 10 in Tampines. The series of roads passes through the areas of Queenstown, Bukit Timah, Central Catchment Nature Reserve, Bishan, Toa Payoh, Geylang and Tampines.

Outer Ring Road System
Outer Ring Road System is labelled in double navy blue line
Route information
HistoryIntroduced in 1994
Major junctions
West endAyer Rajah (AYE)
Major intersectionsAYE, PIE, NSC, CTE, KPE
East endTampines
Location
CountrySingapore
Highway system

Route

The route of the ORRS forms a semi-circle shape, connecting several expressways and major arterial roads. Travelling from west to east in a clockwise direction, the route begins at Queenstown with a connection to the Ayer Rajah Expressway. The route continues northward through the residential areas of Bukit Timah via Farrer Road and Adam Road, with the first connection to the Pan Island Expressway. The route continues east through Bukit Brown, Toa Payoh, Bishan and Bartley, via the MacRitchie Viaduct and Lornie Viaduct and a connection to the Central Expressway. From here, the route travels eastwards to Kaki Bukit and Tampines through a series of viaducts.

Benefit

With the ORRS, traffic volume on city-bound roads will be reduced. It also provides an alternative route east-west travel for motorists without going through the city. Since ORRS is extensively linked to expressways and other arterial roads, such as Bukit Timah Road, motorists can get from one traffic route to another easily.

Upgrading projects

The first upgrading project started in 1994, with two intersections along Farrer Road being the first to be upgraded. The upgrading projects had to be carried out in stages to minimise disruption to traffic. The completion of the Portsdown Flyover, Queensway Flyover and Queensway Underpass marks another milestone in the realisation of the ORRS. The Farrer Road section of the upgrading project completed in 2009.

Interchange along ORRS
Road name Interchange with 1 Type Remarks Name of interchange
Portsdown Avenue Ayer Rajah Expressway Diamond Start of ORRS going eastbound; end of ORRS going westbound. Portsdown Flyover
Queensway 3-way From Portsdown Avenue, it goes straight towards Queensway northbound and the ORRS continues from there. Queensway Flyover
Queensway Commonwealth Dr 3-way - -
Queensway Commonwealth Avenue SPUI Queensway Underpass offers a non-stop drive through this interchange. Queensway Underpass
Queensway Commonwealth Dr LILO - -
Farrer Road Holland Road Three-level diamond To go from Queensway to Farrer Road, one can drive through the Farrer Underpass. Farrer Underpass, Holland Flyover
Leedon Heights 3-way - -
Farrer Road Empress Road 3-way - -
Farrer Road Bukit Timah Road Three-level diamond Bukit Timah Road travels westward only, access the Farrer Flyover to stay on the ORRS. Farrer Flyover, Bukit Timah Underpass
Adam Road Dunearn Road Three-level diamond Dunearn Road travels east bound only, access the Farrer Flyover to stay on the ORRS. Farrer Flyover, Dunearn Underpass
Pan Island Expressway Parclo – Adam Flyover
Lornie Highway Lornie Road Slip lane To go from Adam Road to Lornie Highway, one can drive on Adam Flyover. An alternative road is Lornie Road, which is parallel to Lornie Highway, although Lornie Road has a longer distance than Lornie Highway. Adam Flyover
Thomson Road To go from Lornie Highway to Braddell Road, one can drive on MacRitchie Viaduct. Marymount Flyover, MacRitchie Viaduct, Lornie Viaduct
Braddell Road Bishan Road Seagull Bishan Flyover offers a non-stop drive through this interchange. Bishan Flyover
Lorong 6 Toa Payoh Trumpet – Toa Payoh North Flyover
Bishan Street 11 LILO Can only be accessed by traffic travelling eastbound. –
Lorong 8 Toa Payoh Slip lane Lorong 8 Toa Payoh only allows traffic to travel westbound only. Vehicles are not permitted to leave the ORRS here. –
Central Expressway, Lorong Chuan 3-level SPUI Braddell Underpass offers a non-stop drive through this interchange. Braddell Underpass, Braddell Flyover
Upper Serangoon Road Three-level diamond To go from Braddell Road to Bartley Road, one can drive through Bartley Underpass. This interchange is Singapore's first four-tier interchange, with, from highest to lowest, Upper Serangoon Viaduct, Upper Serangoon Road, Bartley Underpass and North East line tunnel. Woodleigh Underpass, Upper Serangoon Viaduct
Bartley Road Serangoon Avenue 1 3-way – –
Upper Paya Lebar Road 3-level SPUI Only motorists travelling eastbound can only enter and exit to Upper Paya Lebar Road.
Bartley Road East Hougang Avenue 3 SPUI Bartley Viaduct
Airport Road SPUI Only motorists travelling westbound can only enter and exit to Airport Road. Bartley Viaduct
KPE
Kaki Bukit Ave 4 LILO - -
Bartley Road East Bedok North Road Seagull To go from Bartley Road East to Tampines Avenue 10, one can drive on Kaki Bukit Viaduct. Kaki Bukit Viaduct
Tampines Avenue 10 Tampines Avenue 1 Box, Seagull Start of ORRS leading westbound; end of ORRS leading eastbound. –

^Note 1 : Only expressways, arterial roads and major roads will be mentioned. Minor roads will not be mentioned.

See also

References
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