ICA Warns Heavy Traffic at Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints for September School Holidays
Tighter security checks and planned Tuas car‑lane closures for a new automated clearance system are likely to lengthen waits so travellers should use QR clearance and check live traffic before travelling.
Overview
- The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority issued the travel advisory on Monday, Aug 31, saying heavy traffic is likely at Woodlands and Tuas from Sept 4 to 14 and urging travellers to plan journeys and avoid peak hours.
- ICA cited tightened security checks put in place since Feb 28 as a cause of longer processing times and warned that Tuas will have some car‑lane closures in September for works on a new automated border clearance system, which will reduce lane capacity.
- Digital measures such as MyICA QR code clearance and facial recognition for motorcyclists have raised departure‑period throughput by more than 35 percent, which ICA says is equivalent to about 7,600 extra travellers per hour versus 2019.
- Recent demand shows the pressure on checkpoints: more than 2.1 million travellers crossed during the Aug 7–10 National Day weekend with peak daily volumes over 593,000 and car waits up to three hours.
- ICA stressed firm enforcement against queue‑cutting and unsafe driving, with past actions including U‑turn orders, vehicle bans and Traffic Police referrals, and advised motorists to allow extra time, follow lane discipline and check LTA OneMotoring before travel.