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  The Straits Times, 26 Feb 05
 THREE mature rain trees between 60 and 80 years old at the junction of Holland Road and Holland Avenue will be chopped down to make way for the MRT station there
by Goh Chin Lian

THREE mature rain trees between 60 and 80 years old at the junction of Holland Road and Holland Avenue will be chopped down to make way for the MRT station there. The trees are growing directly above the site for Holland Station, one of 29 underground stops being built on the MRT Circle Line, due to be operational in 2010.

But 11 other rain trees and angsanas between 30 and 40 years old outside shophouses have been untouched, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) pointed out. The LTA, which is building the station, said it ensured that a new slip road it constructed went around the trees.

Asked about the trees' removal, the National Parks Board said that it worked closely with the LTA to retain 45 out of the 90 trees that would have had to go in the original station design.

The LTA is also taking other steps to limit disruption in an area with heavy vehicle and passenger traffic, and homes and shophouses close by. It is setting up a 7m-high enclosure over a loading bay at the construction site to reduce the noise for residents at Willyn Ville condominium in Holland Road.

And it will keep all six lanes on Holland Road open during construction, by moving the road to one side. The traffic diversions will start in two weeks' time at the junction of Holland Road and Holland Avenue, which will be re-aligned for about three years.
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