The Ingenieur Vol 59 July-Sept 2014 The Ingenieur Vo. 59, July-Sept 2014 | Page 56

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INGENIEUR

COLLAPSE OF
Good
NICOLL HIGHWAY
communication IN SINGAPORE
between the
many parties
involved is also
essential in the
building process.

Nicoll Highway had been in use for about 48 years
before a tragic disaster happened on Tuesday midafternoon, April 20, 2004. A cave-in and brought
the surrounding area and the highway down into
it, forming 30m deep ravine. The tragedy left four
men dead.

Good communication between the many
parties involved is also essential in the building
process. As such, poor communication and
miscommunication can have dire consequences.
The common issues are:
(1) Poor communication between the various
design professionals involved, e.g. engineers
involved in conceptual design and those
involved in the supervision of execution of
works.
(2) Poor communication between the fabricators
and erectors.
(3) Bad workmanship, which is often the result of
failure to communicate the design decisions
to the persons involved in executing them.
(4) Compromises in professional ethics and
failure to appreciate the responsibility of the
profession to the community at large.
Source: www.steel-insday.org
The following are snippets of structural
failures and design flaws in different countries that
carry valuable lessons for Professional Engineers,
architects, contractors, Government departments,
building owners and the general public.

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ingenieur 2014-July-FA.indd 54

On April 20, 2004, most construction workers of
the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT Circle Line tunnel in
Nicoll Highway) were having their tea break when
the steel supports over the tunnel began to fall
over, going down like dominoes into the deep
tunnel. The surrounding area followed suit, sagging
into the tunnel, and the Nicoll Highway quickly
and smoothly caved in ‘like soft sand giving way’,
starting with the city-bound carriageway.
As Nicoll Highway sank, gas, water and
electricity cables snapped, causing power to go out
for about 15,000 people and 700 businesses in
the Marina and Suntec City area. Tremors were felt
at Golden Mile Complex. Tenants and residents in
the building were also evacuated.
As a result of the collapse, excavation works
at all MRT Circle Line sites under the charge of the
main contractor were temporarily suspended.
The Singapore Government set up a three-man
Committee of Inquiry (COI) to probe into the cause
of the collapse and present recommendations to
prevent a similar tragedy. The final report of the COI
into the collapse of Nicoll Highway was submitted
on May 11, 2005. The Report laid bare a string of
lamentable errors relating to design, construction,
monitoring and supervision, regulatory weakness
and the lack of defensive systems and emergency
planning. The COI also highlighted human and
organisational failures which contributed to the
collapse.
The collapse occurred as a consequence of
the failure of a deep excavation adjacent to Nicoll
Highw ^K