A multi-billion-dollar plan for an underground road system that was first proposed in the 1980s has been scrapped by the government. 

According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) plans for the system known as the Singapore Underground Road System (Surs) was no longer needed because public transport connectivity has greatly improved over the years.

According to TODAY, the dropping of Surs will now remove some land development restrictions in areas previously affected by the plan. Land owners will now be able to drill underground or build taller buildings.

What was Surs?

Surs was meant to be an underground arterial ring-road network running around the fringe of the Central Business District (CBD). It comprised two 15km-long tunnels, each about 2-4 lanes wide.

The plan was first detailed in the 1996 Land Transport White Paper titled A World Class Land Transport System, available for viewing on the National Archives Online.

The goal of Surs was to increase CBD road capacity by 40%.

The cost, as you might imagine, was an "exorbitant" $4.8 billion, which if recouped via toll payments, would mean payment "may have to be as high as $30 per pass".

LTA had estimated that an increase in COE and tax revenues (because more road space = more cars) would help lessen the toll cost of using Surs.

There was even a variety of configurations planned for Surs:

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Fast forward 21 years, and it is clear that times and priorities have changed.

With various expansions made to public transportation, such as the opening of the Downtown Line, and the move towards a car-lite society, it looks like Surs has become outdated.

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Top image via LTA.

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