Heavy Traffic At Woodlands Checkpoint As Johoreans Usher In Long Weekend
If you’re heading to Johor Bahru (JB) over the weekend, you might want to factor in a longer travelling time back to Singapore, especially if you’re going by Woodlands Checkpoint. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) cautioned of heavy arrival traffic there at 8am today (23 Mar).
The ICA said in an update post that the congestion subsided by 9.15am.
Source: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority on Facebook
However, real-time cameras at Woodlands Checkpoint spotted long queues towards Singapore well into the afternoon.
Heavy traffic towards Singapore at Woodlands Checkpoint
Real-time camera footage from OneMotoring spotted snaking queues towards Singapore on the morning of Thursday (23 Mar).
Source: OneMotoring
According to The Straits Times (ST), the heavier-than-normal traffic can be attributed to a long weekend starting in Johor.
The four-day long weekend starting today celebrates the start of Ramadan. It is coincidentally also Johor’s ruler, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar’s, birthday.
Source: Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar on Facebook
Since both occasions call for public holidays, the state declared Sunday a replacement holiday as they observe a Friday to Saturday weekend.
The traffic is thus unsurprising, as Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat told The Star on 22 Mar that police are expecting heavy traffic on major roads and highways, even within the state.
He said that Johor police will deploy officers to ease congestion during the period.
As of the time of writing at nearly 4pm, traffic seems to have eased quite relatively at Woodlands Checkpoint towards Singapore.
Cater more time for journeys back
That said, if you’re intending to travel to JB during this period, do make sure to cater for a longer travelling time.
Before starting your commute, consider checking the OneMotoring portal for a sense of expected traffic conditions.
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Featured image adapted from OneMotoring.
