Boon Keng MRT station

Boon Keng MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the North East Line (NEL) in Kallang, Singapore. Located underneath Serangoon Road just after the traffic junction with Towner Road and Boon Keng Road, the station primarily serves the Boon Keng area. Landmarks served by the station include Bendemeer Wet Market & Hawker Centre and Central Sikh Temple. Boon Keng station was first announced in March 1996, as part of the 16 planned NEL stations. It was constructed using the semi top-down construction method. It opened on 20 June 2003. The station is a designated Civil Defence shelter and is wheelchair-accessible. As part of the Art-in-Transit programme, it features Metamorphosis, a public artwork by Lim Poh Teck that depicts the past and present of Boon Keng.

The NEL, which was first proposed in 1984, received government approval in January 1996. Boon Keng station was among the sixteen NEL stations announced that March by communications minister Mah Bow Tan. On 23 June 1997, the contract for the design and construction of Potong Pasir and Boon Keng stations and associated tunnels was awarded to a joint venture of Kumagai Gumi, Sembawang Engineering & Construction and Mitsui & Co. for $316.7 million. The contract included the construction of 1.8 kilometres (1.1 miles) of twin bored tunnels and 280 metres (920 ft) of cut-and-cover tunnels. The station excavation required the demolition of 200 parking lots located at carparks serving Housing Development Board (HDB) flats Block 22 and Block 34. To mitigate the loss of amenities for residents, new replacement carparks were constructed in the vicinity of the affected blocks. The station's western diaphragm wall was constructed beneath Serangoon Road, necessitating several traffic diversions. Road metal decking was used to maintain overall road capacity during construction. Existing 230 kV electrical cables and cast-iron water pipes located along the site boundary had to be protected from damage and vibration, while pipes crossing the site were relocated by the Land Transport Authority. The contractors utilised a semi top-down construction method for the station, whereby the roof slab was cast first, followed by excavation to the concourse level through large openings in the slab. The concourse slab was then constructed, incorporating openings for further excavation to the platform level. The roof and concourse slabs were used to support the diaphragm walls, reducing ground movement and minimising disturbance to nearby HDB blocks. This approach was more cost-effective than the bottom-up method, which would have required extensive steel strutting to support the diaphragm walls. Tunnelling between Boon Keng and Potong Pasir involved passing beneath shophouses along Serangoon Road, which were closely monitored for ground settlement. To minimise such risks, tunnelling was carried out continuously on a 24-hour basis rather than the original six-day work schedule. The tunnels also passed beneath Whampoa Canal and the Kallang River. At the request of the Public Utilities Board, a 50-metre section of the 25-metre-wide canal was reconstructed as a reinforced concrete canal above the tunnels. The station opened on 20 June 2003.

Data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).