Bukit Timah Road
Encyclopedia
Bukit Timah Road is a major road
in Singapore
extending from the city centre to Woodlands Road on the way to Johor Bahru
in Malaysia. The road has a distance of 25km (15.5 miles), which is one of the longest roads in Singapore, and the road takes its name from the hill. En route, it passes through the areas of Little India
, Newton Road, Farrer Road, Singapore Botanic Gardens
and Bukit Timah
.
Bukit Timah Road splits into two roads at Newton Circus, the west-bound Bukit Timah Road and east-bound Dunearn Road, both of which straddle a canal
along their entire lengths. Bukit Timah Road begins at the junction with Rochor Canal Road, Serangoon Road
and Selegie Road just south of Tekka Centre
as Bukit Timah Road, follows a canal in a northwest direction up to its junction with Clementi Road
where it continues northwards as Upper Bukit Timah Road (武吉知马路上段) until the junction with Bukit Panjang Road and Choa Chu Kang Road
near the Ten Mile Junction
shopping mall
as Woodlands Road. The road passes through the Bukit Timah Planning Area. Buildings named after the road are Bukit Timah Plaza and Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. This road also is affected with the North-South Expressway
construction.
s that it was said to be a serious threat to human
s. The first horseback ride in the island was along Bukit Timah in 1840, which took four days and was made by Mr Thomson and Dr. Little. In 1860, about 200 were killed by the tigers in and about the gambier
and pepper
plantations. The road was also the last defensive stand against the Japan
ese army
in 1942. The British
surrendered to the Japanese at the Old Ford Motor Factory
at Upper Bukit Timah Road. A canal
was built in later years between Dunearn Road and Bukit Timah Road to solve the flood
ing problem in the area. In the 1990s, a tunnel
and a flyover
was constructed namely the Bukit Timah Underpass and the Wayang Satu Flyover. The Newton Flyover exists since the 1970s which goes over the junction of Newton Circus.
, which means "the side of the stream in tek kha (Selegie Road) district". This only refers to the eastern end of the road. The Wayang Satu (Whitley
) and Bukit Timah village
were differently called. They also referred the road as bee chia lo bue, meaning the "end of the horse carriage road".
, Balmoral Plaza, Coronation Plaza, Hwa Chong Institution
, Kandang Kerbau Women's and Children's Hospital
, Kampong Java Park, King Albert Park, Little India MRT Station
, Methodist Girls' School
, National Junior College
, Nanyang Girls' High School
, Newton Food Centre
, Newton MRT Station
, Singapore Botanic Gardens
, Serene Centre, Tekka Centre
, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
at the junction of Bukit Timah/Dunrean road and upper Bukit Timah road and at Upper Bukit Timah Road, landmarks include Bukit Timah Plaza, Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre, Beauty World, Cheong Chin Nam Road, Hoover Park, Rail Mall and the Old Ford Motor Factory
.
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
extending from the city centre to Woodlands Road on the way to Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland...
in Malaysia. The road has a distance of 25km (15.5 miles), which is one of the longest roads in Singapore, and the road takes its name from the hill. En route, it passes through the areas of Little India
Little India, Singapore
Little India is an ethnic neighbourhood found in Singapore that has Tamil cultural elements. Little India lies to east of the Singapore River—across from Chinatown, located west of the river—and north of Kampong Glam. Both areas are part of the urban planning area of Rochor...
, Newton Road, Farrer Road, Singapore Botanic Gardens
Singapore Botanic Gardens
The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 74-hectare botanical garden in Singapore. It is half the size of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew or around one-fifth the size of Central Park in New York. It is the only botanic garden in the world that opens from 5 a.m...
and Bukit Timah
Bukit Timah
Bukit Timah is an area in Singapore and a hill in that area. Bukit Timah is located near the centre of the Singapore main island. The hill stands at an altitude of 163.63 metres and is the highest point in the city-state of Singapore...
.
Bukit Timah Road splits into two roads at Newton Circus, the west-bound Bukit Timah Road and east-bound Dunearn Road, both of which straddle a canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
along their entire lengths. Bukit Timah Road begins at the junction with Rochor Canal Road, Serangoon Road
Serangoon Road
Serangoon Road is a road from Little India to Boon Keng of Singapore . There is another road, from Woodsville Interchange to Sengkang called Upper Serangoon Road.Another way is via Jalan Besar and Bendemeer Road....
and Selegie Road just south of Tekka Centre
Tekka Centre
Tekka Centre is a multi-use building complex comprising a wet market, food centre and shops, located in the northern corner of Bukit Timah Road and Serangoon Road, in Little India, Singapore.- Etymology and history :...
as Bukit Timah Road, follows a canal in a northwest direction up to its junction with Clementi Road
Clementi Road
Clementi Road is a road in Singapore. It starts at the Bukit Timah Avenue and ends at West Coast Road. Its landmarks include maju circus, the SIM University, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and National University of Singapore.-References:*...
where it continues northwards as Upper Bukit Timah Road (武吉知马路上段) until the junction with Bukit Panjang Road and Choa Chu Kang Road
Choa Chu Kang Road
Choa Chu Kang Road is a road in Singapore now in two parts, one from Upper Bukit Timah Road and continues through via Bukit Batok Road, and another one, from Kranji Expressway all the way up to Jalan Sungei Poyan under Old Choa Chu Kang Road. It continues through the SAFTI area, at Poyan Reservoir...
near the Ten Mile Junction
Ten Mile Junction
Ten Mile Junction Ten Mile Junction Ten Mile Junction (Chinese: 十里广场）is a shopping mall located at the junction between Woodlands Road and Choa Chu Kang Road. Named after the defunct KTM tenth-mile railway line mark of the former Tanjong Pagar to Kranji part of its Singapore mainline from Upper...
shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
as Woodlands Road. The road passes through the Bukit Timah Planning Area. Buildings named after the road are Bukit Timah Plaza and Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. This road also is affected with the North-South Expressway
North-South Expressway
The North–South Expressway is the longest expressway in Malaysia with the total length of running from Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah near the Malaysian-Thai border to Johor Bahru at the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia and to Singapore...
construction.
History
The road was built in 1845 and the area was populated with tigerTiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
s that it was said to be a serious threat to human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s. The first horseback ride in the island was along Bukit Timah in 1840, which took four days and was made by Mr Thomson and Dr. Little. In 1860, about 200 were killed by the tigers in and about the gambier
Uncaria
Uncaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It has about 40 species. Their distribution is pantropical, with most species native to tropical Asia, three from Africa and the Mediterranean and two from the neotropics. They are known colloquially as Gambier, Cat's Claw or Uña de...
and pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
plantations. The road was also the last defensive stand against the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
in 1942. The British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
surrendered to the Japanese at the Old Ford Motor Factory
Old Ford Motor Factory
The Old Ford Motor Factory is a historic building in Singapore, located along Upper Bukit Timah Road.-History:The factory is the site of the historic surrender of the British to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, at the end of the Battle of Singapore in World War II...
at Upper Bukit Timah Road. A canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
was built in later years between Dunearn Road and Bukit Timah Road to solve the flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ing problem in the area. In the 1990s, a tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
and a flyover
Overpass
An overpass is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway...
was constructed namely the Bukit Timah Underpass and the Wayang Satu Flyover. The Newton Flyover exists since the 1970s which goes over the junction of Newton Circus.
Etymology
Bukit Timah Road is known as tek kha kang a ki in HokkienMin Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
, which means "the side of the stream in tek kha (Selegie Road) district". This only refers to the eastern end of the road. The Wayang Satu (Whitley
Whitley
-Places:United Kingdom*Whitley Bay, town in Tyne and Wear *Whitley, Berkshire, suburb of Reading*Whitley, Cheshire, village near Warrington*Whitley, Coventry, suburb of Coventry...
) and Bukit Timah village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
were differently called. They also referred the road as bee chia lo bue, meaning the "end of the horse carriage road".
Landmarks
Along the road, major landmarks include Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)
Anglo-Chinese School is a secondary school of the Anglo-Chinese School family located at the Barker Road campus, Singapore. It offers the GCE 'O' Level Course for its students from Sec 1 to Sec 4/5. Students may then move on to Anglo-Chinese Junior College with affiliation favours...
, Balmoral Plaza, Coronation Plaza, Hwa Chong Institution
Hwa Chong Institution
Hwa Chong Institution is an independent school in Singapore for students aged 12 to 18 covering both secondary and pre-university levels. A Ministry of Education-designated FutureSchool, it operates under the Special Assistance Plan for bilingualism, and offers the Integrated Programme and also...
, Kandang Kerbau Women's and Children's Hospital
Kandang Kerbau Women's and Children's Hospital
Formerly known as Kandang Kerbau Hospital, KK Women's and Children's Hospital is now the largest hospital specialising in healthcare for women and children in Singapore....
, Kampong Java Park, King Albert Park, Little India MRT Station
Little India MRT Station
Little India MRT Station ' is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station on the North East Line in Singapore and as the name implies, serves the ethnic neighbourhood of Little India...
, Methodist Girls' School
Methodist Girls' School
Methodist Girls' School is a girls' independent school, consisting of two sections - the Primary School and Secondary School, located in Bukit Timah, Singapore. It is affiliated to the Anglo-Chinese School family and the Methodist Church in Singapore...
, National Junior College
National Junior College
National Junior College is the first junior college established by the Ministry Of Education, located in Bukit Timah, Singapore. It is considered as one of the top five junior colleges in Singapore. NJC offers a two-year course for pre-university students leading up to the GCE 'A' Levels...
, Nanyang Girls' High School
Nanyang Girls' High School
Nanyang Girls' High School is an all-girls secondary school in Singapore. It participates in the Integrated Programme with Hwa Chong Institution under the Hwa Chong Affiliate Programme...
, Newton Food Centre
Newton Food Centre
Newton Food Centre is a major food centre located in Newton, Singapore. The food centre was promoted by the Singapore Tourism Board as a tourist attraction for sampling Singaporean cuisine. It was first opened in 1971 and it closed down in 2005 as the government wanted to revamp the food centre...
, Newton MRT Station
Newton MRT Station
Newton MRT Station ' is a station on the North South Line in on the Mass Rapid Transit in Singapore. It is located along Scotts Road and is an underground station. It is the shallowest underground MRT Station on the North South and East West MRT Lines at just about 12m underground. Its livery is...
, Singapore Botanic Gardens
Singapore Botanic Gardens
The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 74-hectare botanical garden in Singapore. It is half the size of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew or around one-fifth the size of Central Park in New York. It is the only botanic garden in the world that opens from 5 a.m...
, Serene Centre, Tekka Centre
Tekka Centre
Tekka Centre is a multi-use building complex comprising a wet market, food centre and shops, located in the northern corner of Bukit Timah Road and Serangoon Road, in Little India, Singapore.- Etymology and history :...
, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Ngee Ann Polytechnic , is an institute of higher learning in Singapore, founded in 1963 as Ngee Ann College with 116 students...
at the junction of Bukit Timah/Dunrean road and upper Bukit Timah road and at Upper Bukit Timah Road, landmarks include Bukit Timah Plaza, Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre, Beauty World, Cheong Chin Nam Road, Hoover Park, Rail Mall and the Old Ford Motor Factory
Old Ford Motor Factory
The Old Ford Motor Factory is a historic building in Singapore, located along Upper Bukit Timah Road.-History:The factory is the site of the historic surrender of the British to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, at the end of the Battle of Singapore in World War II...
.