THOUGH barely two months old, the new Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) is starting to show results. More and more motorists are switching from the Central Expressway (CTE) to the new highway because of the time they can shave off their travelling.

Many of them are like motorist Alfred Lee, a Punggol resident who previously suffered through an hour of 'start-stop traffic' on the CTE from his home in Punggol to his office in Tanjong Pagar.

When the KPE started operating, the executive became a faithful user, saying it now takes him 25 minutes to get to work.

Checks with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) showed that traffic volume on the CTE has fallen by five per cent since Sept 20, the day the KPE opened, with a corresponding 15 per cent increase on the new expressway in the same period.

From 42,500 vehicles which used the KPE daily in its first week of operation, 48,900 vehicles now do so every day. The LTA did not have corresponding numbers for the CTE.

It declined to comment on whether the new expressway, which offers a bypass from the Tampines Expressway to the East Coast Parkway, has accounted for the easing in traffic on the CTE.

The KPE was built to relieve travel from north-eastern areas such as Sengkang, Punggol and Hougang into the city. The most direct route is the north-south artery of the Central Expressway, which quickly became congested after it opened in stages between 1989 and 1991.

The LTA had said the KPE had the potential to reduce travel time from these areas by up to 25 per cent, and might also reduce islandwide travelling time by six per cent during peak hours.

Indeed, eight motorists The Straits Times spoke to said the new expressway has helped cut their travelling times by at least 30 per cent, or even more.

Mr Lee, 33, said: 'I save 35 minutes and it is great because in the morning, every minute is precious.'

Some motorists are also using it to avoid paying Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges along the north-bound CTE.

Accountant Li Ruihui, 26, takes the KPE if he is going home between 5.30pm and 10.30pm, though it is a longer route.

'The CTE is faster, so I go back by that route after 10.30pm,' said the Hougang resident, who works at Raffles Place.

According to LTA, the average morning peak traffic volume for KPE currently is 2,600 vehicles an hour, and it dips slightly to 2,300 during the evening peak.

It is designed to handle 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles an hour.

If motorists have a complaint, it is the 70kmh speed limit, set for safety reasons. The 12km-long KPE has a 9km underground tunnel - the longest in South-east Asia. Accidents in underground tunnels can be potentially disastrous.

Ms Joanna Siah, 27, said this limit is one reason she does not use it more often. 'A little bit more (speed) would be great,' said the copywriter, who uses the KPE only occasionally to drive home to Punggol from town.