WE REFER to the letters on the Paterson Road oil spill ("Could better coordination have helped?" by Mr Adrian Soh Mun Wai, "Query on police response" by Mr Edwin Feng and "Quick deployment of forces essential" by Mr Choo Hock Lye; all published last Tuesday).
The first tweet from the Land Transport Authority to alert motorists to the closure of the affected stretch of Paterson Road was at 3.48am, and not 8.15am as reported by The Straits Times.
At the same time, we issued advisories on all our Expressway Monitoring Advisory System 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 closed Paterson Road 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 and the National Environment Agency worked on site to clear the spill. When the agencies determined they could not completely remove the oil for a safe road re-opening, we decided to resurface the road to make it totally safe for use.
As such, the affected stretch could be re-opened only at 4.55pm. We will review how we can further improve the response of government agencies to such incidents, and thank those affected by this incident for their patience and understanding.
Helen Lim (Ms)
Director, Media Relations
Land Transport Authority
The first tweet from the Land Transport Authority to alert motorists to the closure of the affected stretch of Paterson Road was at 3.48am, and not 8.15am as reported by The Straits Times.
At the same time, we issued advisories on all our Expressway Monitoring Advisory System 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 closed Paterson Road 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 and the National Environment Agency worked on site to clear the spill. When the agencies determined they could not completely remove the oil for a safe road re-opening, we decided to resurface the road to make it totally safe for use.
As such, the affected stretch could be re-opened only at 4.55pm. We will review how we can further improve the response of government agencies to such incidents, and thank those affected by this incident for their patience and understanding.
Helen Lim (Ms)
Director, Media Relations
Land Transport Authority
