The downpour on July 19 morning toppled a tree along the Central Island Expressway (CTE), resulting in the closure of a tunnel and a pile-up of morning traffic.

Fallen tree near exit of CTE tunnel

In a tweet by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) at 9:18am, it notified motorists of an accident in the CTE tunnel towards the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE), before Orchard Road exit.

It also advised that the tunnel was closed.

Accident in CTE Tunnel (towards AYE) before Orchard Rd Exit. CTE Tunnel closed before Orchard Rd Exit

— LTATrafficNews (@LTAtrafficnews) July 19, 2023

Based on photos shared online, the fallen tree appeared to have been located right outside the exit of the Kampong Java tunnel of the CTE in the direction of AYE.

Photos uploaded to the SG Road Vigilante page on Facebook also showed motorists outside their vehicles and standing along the expressway.

The fallen tree appeared to have rendered all lanes of the carriageway impassable.

A car also appeared to have been caught under the tree.

Digital signs at the entrance of the Kampong Java tunnel towards AYE appeared to advise motorists that the tunnel was closed, and that they must exit to Cairnhill Circus.

Traffic tailback reached Yio Chu Kang exit

In an update at 9:32am, LTA share that the traffic pile-up had reached Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 exit.

Accident in CTE Tunnel (towards AYE) before Orchard Rd Exit with congestion till AMK Ave 5 Exit. CTE Tunnel closed before Orchard Rd Exit

— LTATrafficNews (@LTAtrafficnews) July 19, 2023

Six minutes later at 9:38am, LTA updated in another tweet that the congestion had reached Yio Chu Kang exit.

Accident in CTE Tunnel (towards AYE) before Orchard Rd Exit with congestion till Yio Chu Kang Rd Exit. CTE Tunnel clo... https://t.co/a6w5qbUHO2

— LTATrafficNews (@LTAtrafficnews) July 19, 2023

A check on traffic map application Waze revealed that the distance between where the fallen tree was and Yio Chu Kang exit is approximately 10.8km.

One Mothership reader shared that at one point, the drive from Ang Mo Kio to Cairnhill was estimated to be 46 minutes and growing.

LTA's latest advisory was at 12:26pm.

It shared that roadworks were ongoing in the CTE tunnel towards AYE with congestion reaching the Moulmein Road exit.

The advisory also stated that motorists should avoid lane three, suggesting that some lanes have been cleared by then.

Responding to queries from Mothership, the National Parks Board (NParks) shared that they were alerted to an uprooted tree incident during heavy rain on the morning of July 19 at around 9:30am.

It added that the there were strong gusts of winds of up to 65km/hr.

According to NParks, the incident involved a Senegal Mahogany tree located at State Land beside CTE between Kramat Road and Cairnhill Circle.

There were no reported injuries, and the obstruction was cleared at about 10:30am.

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Top image via @twangky/Twitter, SG Road Vigilante/Facebook