Fallen tree along Pipit Road in MacPherson causes buses to be diverted
Fatimah Mujibah and Mark Cheong
The Straits Times
Feb 18, 2026
A tree along Pipit Road in MacPherson fell early on the morning of Feb 18, causing the two-lane road to be blocked for hours.
In a Facebook post at 9.58am, MacPherson MP Tin Pei Ling confirmed that no one was injured nor were any cars damaged.
She thanked the police and town council workers who were on site to help manage traffic and pedestrians.
The Marine Parade-Braddell Heights Town Council handles such matters for the area.
She added that the town council also called a horticulture contractor team to clear the tree, which was last checked and certified to be healthy by the horticulture contractor in November 2025.
Ms Tin also said that she has asked the specialists to investigate the cause of the fall and to check all the trees in the area again.
"Thankfully, no person or vehicle was damaged," Ms Tin said, noting that bus services are affected for now.
In photos shared by Ms Tin, the road is cordoned off where the trunk of the large tree appears to have snapped at the base. In one photo, a sign can be seen on both sides of the road alerting motorists to the presence of elderly people. One of the signs seems to be dented.
In a Reddit post at 8am, a user published a photo showing a large tree sprawled across the road, blocking both incoming and outgoing traffic.
Bus services had to divert their routes due to the accident.
In a post on social media platform X at 8.25am, SBS Transit said that bus services 40, 63/63M, 65, 135, 154, 155 and 158 were being diverted from Paya Lebar Road, Circuit Link, Circuit Road, Mattar Road and Aljunied Road, skipping 12 bus stops due to a fallen tree. Affected bus services under SMRT also showed a diversion notice on mobile apps.
As at around 10.20am, all bus services were running normally. When The Straits Times arrived at the scene, workers could be seen removing bits of the fallen tree along the road between Block 92 and Block 54 Pipit Road. The branches of the tree were also cut.
By around 10am, one lane of the road had been opened for traffic to pass through and workers were slowly loading pieces of the tree into a lorry to transport away.
According to one of the company's contractors called in to move and cut the fallen tree, the tree had toppled at around 8am. He arrived at 8.30am.
"There was a bus that could not pass through the road due to the fallen tree and was stuck for around 1½ hours before it could pass at around 10am," said the contractor, who declined to be named.
He added that the traffic police had already blocked entry from the highway into Pipit Road by the time he arrived, with motorists being diverted to turn left into Paya Lebar Road and then Circuit Link.
There was hardly a traffic jam or any confusion, he noted.
The contractor said that the only damage sustained was by a lighting pole and a temporary structure, which was used to hang lanterns.
The Straits Times has contacted the Land Transport Authority and Marine Parade-Braddell Heights Town Council for more information.
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