New running path and Barrage soon

Source : Straits Times - 16 Jul 2008

SEASONED marathoner Alan Chao has often had to contend with traffic lights and car exhaust fumes on his long training runs from Marina South to East Coast Park.

But he will soon be able to run with a continuous rhythm on an unobstructed and scenic route linking the two areas.

A new 2.78km-long, 5m-wide path, which cuts through Marina East and links the Fort Road end of the East Coast Park to Marina South, will be ready by next month.

Some 35 men from the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) Singapore Combat Engineers have been working on the path since last month to complete it in time for the Aug 24 Safra Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon.

Chao, 50, will be among the over 25,000 half-marathon runners who will be the first to run on the new path.

‘I’m very excited to run on this new route. It’s great,’ said Chao, who visited the site with three other Safra Mt Faber running club members and The Straits Times last week.

Everyone agreed that the route, which follows the perimeter of the Marina Bay Golf Course and has views of the city skyline, was a breath of fresh air.

The path is linked to Marina South by the Marina Barrage, a 350m by 6m dam which has been built across the Marina Channel.

The $226 million project by PUB, the national water agency, will officially open in the first quarter of next year.

It is understood that several organisers of triathlon, cycling and running races, including the Singapore Marathon, have expressed an interest in using the new path and Marina Barrage for their routes.

Interested parties should apply to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), which owns the Marina East site.

An SLA spokesman said that consideration will be made on a case by case basis.