ICA refutes M'sia news report about jam caused by 'power outage' at Woodlands Checkpoint

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has refuted a report in Malaysian media that attributed traffic congestion along the Causeway and on several roads in Johor Bahru on Nov. 4 to a power outage at Woodlands Checkpoint.

The Star, a newspaper in Malaysia, had reported that the congestion started at about noon on Wednesday and was caused by a "massive power outage" at Woodlands Checkpoint.

No power outage, only planned electrical maintenance

ICA told Mothership: "ICA would like to clarify that no power outage was experienced at Woodlands Checkpoint on that date."

The authority said it carried out planned electrical maintenance works and a build-up of Singapore-bound traffic occurred.

The works were carried out at the Old Woodlands Checkpoint from 10am to 2pm on Wednesday.

Lorry clearance continued at Woodlands Checkpoint, even though Old Woodlands Checkpoint was temporarily unavailable for the clearance of arriving lorries during the works, ICA added.

Some Singapore-bound cargo traffic built up on the Causeway during this period, before operations at the Old Woodlands Checkpoint resumed at around 4pm.

2 vehicles broke down on Malaysia side

ICA added that two lorries subsequently broke down on the Malaysia side of the Causeway at 4:30pm and 6:30pm, which led to traffic tailing back into Malaysia.

"The breakdowns blocked one of the three arrival lanes, contributing to traffic queues extending from the lorry breakdown sites into Malaysia," ICA said.

"The congestion was exacerbated by the higher volume of vehicles during the evening peak period."

The first lorry was removed only at 9:50pm, while the second was removed at around 12:22am on Thursday, ICA said.

Traffic towards Woodlands Checkpoint was disrupted as a result.

ICA posted advisories on Facebook to alert travellers to the vehicle breakdowns and expected delays, and notify them when the affected lane reopened.

According to The Star, all counters were operating at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) customs, immigration and quarantine complex on the Malaysia side of the Causeway.

Malaysian media further reported that Malaysian authorities opened additional lanes in an effort to resolve the congestion.

Additional police personnel were deployed around BSI and roads to manage the peak-hour rush of workers leaving Singapore, it added.