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, 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, ...
and
Sembawang.
Etymology
The road was named after
John Turnbull Thomson, 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 Com ...
from 1841 to 1853.
History
Thomson Road was constructed to connect the city centre to the
airport and naval base at
Seletar. 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, 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
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 ...
residential area. It passes by
Toa Payoh before continuing on as Upper Thomson Road at the junction with
Braddell Road and
Lornie Road.
It skims along the western edge of
Bishan and
Ang Mo Kio, 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, 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