Thomson Road is a major trunk road linking Singapore's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

with the northern suburban areas of the country. The road is one of the longest in Singapore, starting from

Novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pe ...

in the south towards

MacRitchie Reservoir MacRitchie Reservoir is Singapore's oldest reservoir. The reservoir was completed in 1868 by impounding water from an earth embankment, and was then known as the Impounding Reservoir or Thomson Reservoir. History Before the early 19th centu ...

, before continuing northwards as Upper Thomson Road towards

Yishun Yishun, formerly known as Nee Soon, is a residential town located in the northeastern corner of the North Region of Singapore, bordering Simpang and Sembawang to the north, Mandai to the west, the Central Water Catchment to its southwest, An ...

and

Sembawang Sembawang is a planning area and residential town located in the North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to the south, Yishun to the southeast, Woodlands to the west and the Straits of Jo ...

Etymology

The road was named after

John Turnbull Thomson John Turnbull Thomson (10 August 1821 – 16 October 1884) was a British civil engineer and artist who played an instrumental role in the development of the early infrastructure of nineteenth-century Singapore and New Zealand. He lived the last 2 ...

, who was the Government Surveyor and Chief Engineer of the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

from 1841 to 1853.

History

Thomson Road was constructed to connect the city centre to the airport and naval base at

Seletar Seletar is an area located in the north-east of Singapore. Its name can also refer to the Seletar Planning Area (as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority), situated in the North-East Region of Singapore. The place name was derived from th ...

. The road was originally known as Thomson Road, after which the name was Seletar Road. This resulted in confusion as the naval and air bases, were then both known as Seletar. In response to this, parts of the road were renamed in 1939. It was determined that the road would be called Thomson Road until the Yio Chu Kang junction, whereupon it was to become Upper Thomson Road until the Mandai Road junction. From the Mandai Road junction until the northern coast, it was named as Sembawang Road. The name Seletar Road was dropped. In 1959, the Singapore Rural Board (RB) renamed the stretch of road from the junction of Braddell and Thomson Roads to the junction of Mandai and Sembawang Roads, as Upper Thomson Road. Parts of Thomson Road formed the

Thomson Road Grand Prix circuit Thomson Road Grand Prix circuit was a former street circuit at Thomson Road, Singapore, Thomson Road in Singapore. It hosted races from 1961 to 1973 for automobiles under Formula Libre and Australian Formula 2 rules as well as for motorcycles. ...

, the original

Singapore Grand Prix The Singapore Grand Prix; ta, சிங்கப்பூர் கிராண்ட் பிரிக்ஸ் is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The event takes place on the Marina Bay Street Cir ...

from 1961 to 1973.

Geography

The present-day Thomson Road begins at a major road junction with Keng Lee Road, Kampong Java Road, Cavenagh Road and Norfolk Road, and leads northwards through the

residential area. It passes by

Toa Payoh Toa Payoh (, ta, தோ பாயோ) is a planning area and matured residential town located in the northern part of the Central Region of Singapore. Toa Payoh planning area borders Bishan and Serangoon to the north, the Central Water Catc ...

before continuing on as Upper Thomson Road at the junction with Braddell Road and Lornie Road. It skims along the western edge of

Bishan Bishan most commonly refers to Bishan, Singapore, a residential town in Singapore's Central Region, and its associated places. Bishan may also refer to: Places Singapore * Bishan, Singapore ** Bishan MRT station, a MRT interchange station along t ...

and

Ang Mo Kio Ang Mo Kio is a planning area and residential town situated in the North-East of Singapore. Located approximately north of the Downtown Core district, Ang Mo Kio is the 3rd most populated planning area in the North-East Region and ranks 8th ...

, which also passes through quite a few private residential estates, Thomson Plaza and The Singapore Island Country Club. Towards the end, after Springleaf Estate, the road crosses junction with

Mandai Road Mandai Road () is a major road located in Mandai, in the northern area of Singapore. The road starts from Woodlands Road and ends at the junction of Sembawang Road and Upper Thomson Road. The road was built in 1855 in a jungle and appeared in the ...

, where it continues northwards via Sembawang Road. It is also the site of Saint Joseph Institution International, Ministry of Social and Family Development, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, and many more. The North–South Corridor and Expressway, which is currently under construction goes through major parts of Thomson Road.

Public transport

Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)

Various train stations ply both Upper Thomson Road and Thomson Road, including Springleaf station and the namesake Upper Thomson station on the Thomson–East Coast Line (TEL), as well as Novena station on the North South Line (NSL).

Gallery

File:Thomson Road.JPG, Thomson Road towards the

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

File:Thomson Road.jpg, Thomson Road beneath Lornie Viaduct

References

*Peter K G Dunlop (2000) ''Street Names of Singapore'' Who's Who Publishing *

Notes

{{Major roads in Singapore Roads in Singapore Bishan, Singapore Novena, Singapore Toa Payoh