Organised by IRONMAN Asia, the annual Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, Singapore’s Marquee Road Race, takes place for the 17th time and this year’s edition will be happening over two days, on the 8th and 9th December 2018.

Minimal traffic disruptions and smooth road access

And in lieu of previous years’ feedback, the organisers have made provisions to ensure minimal traffic disruptions and smooth access for the general public living and working along the race route and in the vicinity, to go about their daily lives.

Said Geoff Meyer, 50, IRONMAN Asia Managing Director, “We hope to get as much community information out there on how Singapore residents will be getting around on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th December. We will have more than 95% of road closures along the route; that has never been done in the past.” 

He continued, “So this means that athletes will have more room to move, as well as a better experience. Obviously we will not want cars to access anywhere near the 50,000 runners in the event over the two days. So we have worked with LTA (Land Transport Authority) for a future proof course, and have got a good balance between minimising the impact to Singapore and giving the athletes what they want, in terms of being able to run through the best parts of Singapore.”

At the same time though, Meyer stressed that the 95% road closures will not affect safety vehicles.

He said, “We will work with the police to make sure that there are safety barriers at the start and finish lines as well as lane closures and security officers at junctions so that vehicles can alert runners to keep away if the need arises. Ambulances or other emergency vehicles which need to gain access to the closed roads will be allowed to pass through, too.”

Continued Meyer, “And we also have a full medical team right across the course in the numbers of 300 plus but in saying that, for the public too, there will be extra ambulances and emergency services such as medical buggies and medics on motorbikes or bicycles on standby on Saturday in case of emergencies such as cars being on fire or athletes being injured and so on. As well, there are also going to be doctors deployed at critical points of the route such as West Coast Highway, too, so we have taken care of everything.”

Flag Off and Race Route

The race will flag off at the F1 Pit Building and the finish line is at The Float @ Marina Bay. 

And the route will also pass through Nicoll Highway, East Coast Park, the Marina and Downtown Core, The Central Business District (CBD), West Coast Highway and Sentosa Gateway.

The planning of the race has been done in close consultation with relevant authorities, resulting in a route which provides a great experience for runners and minimises disruption for road users and those who live and work in the area. Routes to emergency and essential services such as hospitals shall remain accessible throughout the duration of the event.

Roads to be closed till 11.00am on Saturday 8 December 

On Saturday 8 December, affected roads will be closed from 12.01am to 11.00am for the National Steps Challenge (NSC) 5km Run and the 10km Competitive Race. 

Said Robert Scully, Traffic and Stakeholder Management at IRONMAN Asia, “We are focused on Nicoll Highway as a two-way zone as well as on the Raffles area. We are looking to get everything back to normal after 11am on Saturday.”

Closures till 2.00pm on Sunday 9 December

On Sunday, 9 December, the roads will be closed from 12.01am to 2.00pm for the Half Marathon and the Full Marathon categories.

To facilitate better traffic flow and access, organisers will progressively re-open roads once all participants have cleared each segment of the route. Traffic wardens will be deployed at all affected roads to help re-direct traffic and asset the public alternative routes to their destinations. Road closure information and re-directional signages will be put up along the roads from Monday 26 November 2018.

Explained Scully, “Sunday’s closures will be a much bigger scale. For the road closures, we are working closely with LTA and the traffic police to make sure that the closures are not too disruptive to the public.”

Progressive re-opening of roads

He added, “As we see it, there are five main sectors that we are looking at, in terms of the running route and the organising of the road closures and re-openings: Sector A is the city area and Nicoll Highway which will be open by 7.30am. Sector B is the CBD which is more quiet on weekends and we plan to get that open by 10.30am.”

After taking runners through the CBD, the running route will then head to the west side of Singapore, for the first time in recent years.

Said Scully, “We are using the viaduct itself and not the lower area of the West Coast Highway so it will not impact the stakeholders concerned and traffic can still flow normally in the area. That will be open by 12pm – because the infrastructure that we are deploying on the highway such as ice buckets and hydration points to cool runners down – will take time to remove.” 

He continued, “Sector D is East Coast Park and there will be minimal impact there because we are running on the service road. It will not impact Carpark C1 because people can still access that. The key though, is the end point and we aim to get the roads around there open by 2pm. But we will have lane closures to facilitate stakeholders at Marina Center and the hotels in the area.”

Download Of WAZE App

For members of the public who need alternative routes to their destinations, Thibault Vellard, Event Director of Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2018, suggested that commuters download the WAZE app, which is free on the Apple and the Android App Stores.

He said, “WAZE is accessible for everyone and will not only let commuters know which roads are closed, but will also suggest other routes to reach your destination and the time taken to get there.”

The Full Road Closures 

Here is a complete list of the road closures for the upcoming Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2018: