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more ERP, opps, good years ahead??? Lornie jams persist Vehicles entering Lornie Road at a faster rate; LTA to widen road in stages By Christopher Tan Motorists complain that the $34 million viaduct, which took four years to complete, might even have worsened congestion along Lornie Road (towards Farrer Road) during peak hours. -- ST PHOTO: FRANCIS ONG THE new Lornie Viaduct - built to speed up traffic flow at the Braddell-Lornie junction - is barely a week old, but it is already chock-a-block in the mornings and early evenings. Motorists complain that the $34 million viaduct, which took four years to complete, might even have worsened congestion along Lornie Road (towards Farrer Road) during peak hours. Ms Jalene Chua, 39, a manager at a local company, said: 'I was really excited when I learnt that the new viaduct was finally ready for use after four long years. So you can imagine my dismay when I was stuck in an even worse traffic jam on Monday morning.' Ms Chua, who lives in Lorong Chuan, was on the viaduct around 7.45am. To beat the jam, she left earlier the next day. 'Flow on the viaduct was smooth, but there was a massive jam right after it, all the way to Farrer Road. I am taking at least five minutes more than before the viaduct was open,' she said. Checks by The Straits Times confirmed this. Retired traffic planner Joseph Yee, 63, reckons the viaduct is 'funnelling' vehicles into Lornie Road 'at a faster rate', and that could have contributed to the bigger jam. A Land Transport Authority spokesman said it is aware of the situation. 'To alleviate the traffic condition, we will widen Lornie Road in stages,' he told The Straits Times. 'Works have started and will continue over the next few months.'