Heavy Traffic Expected Over National Day At S’pore-JB Checkpoints, Prepare For 3-Hour Waiting Times

Travellers Should Factor In More Waiting Time As Heavy Traffic Resurfaces During National Day

After a July with no respite from work, Singaporeans can look forward to relaxing during the National Day public holiday next week.

That means, however, that many people will be crossing the land borders to Malaysia, as often happens during public holidays.

This has prompted the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) of Singapore to warn of heavy traffic at our border checkpoints over the National Day period.

Motorists can expect longer waiting times of up to three hours if they’re attempting the crossing.

National Day & following school holiday will see heavy traffic

In a Facebook post and accompanying media release on Friday (4 Aug), the ICA noted that next Wednesday (9 Aug) will be the National Day public holiday.

The next day, which will be Thursday (10 Aug), is a school holiday.

Thus, heavy traffic is expected at both the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints on these days.

Travellers should factor in additional waiting time

If you’re planning a road trip to Malaysia anyway, do factor in additional waiting time for immigration clearance, ICA advised.

That means possibly taking up to three hours to cross the Causeway during peak periods over the long weekend.

This is similar to the waiting times during the days before the Covid-19 pandemic.

2.2 million cross-border travellers from 28 June-3 July

There’s a lot of precedent for expecting heavy traffic.

During the recent Hari Raya Haji on 29 June, long queues of cars were seen waiting to clear departure, ICA said.

There were also continuous tailbacks from Malaysia, they added.

That period saw more than 2.2 million travellers use the two border crossings over six days — from 28 June to 3 July.

That’s an average of about 367,000 crossings per day.

3 July, especially, saw the most number of crossings, with a whopping 408,000 people travelling that day.

This exceeded the volume recorded even before the pandemic, ICA said.

In a press release on 18 Apr, ICA said the Hari Raya Puasa holidays in 2018 saw over 1.5 million travellers crossing the land checkpoints. Each day, the checkpoints averaged about 380,000 crossings.

ICA offers tips for a smooth journey

ICA urged motorists to do what should be common practice by now: Observe traffic rules, maintain lane discipline and cooperate with officers on-site.

They also suggested that travellers check the traffic situation on OneMotoring, the Expressway Monitoring & Advisory System (EMAS), ICA’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as local radio broadcasts before setting off to ensure a smooth journey.

Singapore residents, long-term pass holders and previously enrolled short-term visitors were also reminded that they can clear immigration via the self-clearance automated immigration kiosks to enjoy faster and more seamless immigration clearance.

Hopefully, everyone travelling over National Day will have a safe trip.