Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE)

All You Need To Know About Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE)

The tenth expressway in Singapore’s network is called the Marina Coastal Expressway (abbreviated MCE). The MCE’s construction started in 2008 and finished at the end of 2013. In the presence of Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo officially inaugurated the expressway on December 28 day was made accessible to vehicles in Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE).

History

From Exit 14B of the East Coast Parkway to the point the MCE joins the Ayer Rajah Expressway video of the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) from east to west towards Tuas taken. To relieve traffic on the East Coast plans to expand the KPE to link the AYE known as marina Coastal Expressway began on March 9 of that year. After feasibility studies for the new expressway complete minister, Raymond Lim stated on July 27, 2007, that the $2.5 billion projects had approved. The new Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) will be 5 kilometres long.

Tunnelling on soft ground is difficult.

Installation of temporary longitudinal retaining walls follows excavation of the ground between them in a cut-and-cover recess. It is fill with a reinforced concrete base slab, permanent side walls, and a roof before the ground replanted on top. In soft terrain, the technique can become challenging.

MCE travels across a section of artificial land composed of 30 to 40 metres of clay, hard Old Alluvium, and 15 metres of fill. When forced, marine clay oozes and has a toothpaste-like consistency. External earth pressure grows steadily more intense as excavation progresses. Both the excavation’s base and the retaining walls are attempting to collapse.

Great value for tax dollars

The Land Transport Authority (LTA), a government client entity, establishes specifications for temporary works, including geotechnical characteristics, retaining wall sizes, and ground improvement. The indicative design stipulated that the lateral displacement of the retaining walls not exceed 75mm when design and build contracts MCE put out to bid in 2008. I-section soldier piles that toed into the Old Alluvium were sheet pile retaining walls from the front. In addition, five tiers of struts spaced at 3m intervals were supposed to the excavation of the retaining wall progressed.

Ground improvement via value engineering

Deep cement mixing (DCM) rather than jet grout ground enhancement was an opportunity that Ssangyong and Samsung viewed as a way to reduce costs and increase value for LTA. The technical performance of both solutions compared, and DCM performed superior. With “jet grouting,” cement grout is injected under high pressure through a hole is drilled into the ground, blending with the surrounding soil. Jet grout “columns” are connected according to a precisely thought-out arrangement to create a continuous layer improvement. The thin drill strings used for jet grouting on MCE would be up to 25m long, leaving them susceptible to deviating from their intended course. 

Savings of 40% on heaps

Concrete piles that have been bored through them support the stiff layer of ground improvement. Engineering solutions have focused on pile performance in compression for major prior cut and cover projects in Singapore. But the piles also function under tension. Additional reinforcing was required to stiffen the piles. We examined the forces operating on every 2500 piles to save the needless usage of steel and the associated cost.