Prior to the start of Downtown Line Phase 1 (DTL1) construction, the existing underground utilities along the Downtown Extension's corridor, i.e. under Cross Street and Upper Cross Street will need to be diverted so that they would not obstruct the construction of Chinatown Station and Cross Street Station. This would also reduce the risk of possible utilities disruption that may affect the commercial and residential users during the DTL1 construction.

To better coordinate the utilities diversions, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) constructed a 500 metres long Common Utility Trench (CUT) along Pickering Street and Church Street. The major corridor houses the utilities from six agencies, namely PowerGas, PowerGrid, SP Telecoms, SingTel, Starhub and PUB (Best Sourcing).

The civil construction contract for the CUT was awarded to Hwa Seng Builder Pte Ltd on 18 August 2006. The project cost about $6.4 million. Construction work started in October 2006 and was completed in September 2007.

The respective agencies have since carried out the connections from the completed CUT to the respective side roads making way for the utilities diversions along Cross Street and Upper Cross Street. This allows the main Civil Contractors for the Downtown Line Phase 1 to commence their work.

Last Updated: 26 February 2008