ICA announced this on its official Facebook page on 26 August 2026. As of 27 August there is no matching media release on ica.gov.sg, where the newest item there is still dated 17 August.
> Quick view: From 1 September 2026, ICA begins construction at Tuas Checkpoint to replace the manned car counters with automated clearance lanes. Parts of the departure car zones (Singapore heading to Johor) will be closed in phases while the work runs, and the work is expected to finish in late 2027. ICA has not published how many lanes close, or when each phase starts and ends.
If your weekend routine involves driving to JB through Tuas, this is the advisory to note. It is not a one-weekend closure. It is a rolling, phased narrowing of the departure car zones that ICA expects to run for about 15 months.
What ICA said
ICA's post covers five points:
- Start date. Construction works at Tuas Checkpoint begin on 1 September 2026.
- Why. The works support the progressive rollout of the Automated Passenger Clearance System (APCS) for cars. Existing car counters staffed by ICA officers are being progressively removed and replaced with APCS lanes.
- The disruption. To allow the work, parts of the departure car zones will be temporarily closed in phases for the duration of the construction.
- How long. The works are expected to be completed in late 2027.
- What ICA is doing about it. Road signage, road safety markers and hoardings have been put up to guide travellers around the affected lanes and zones.
ICA's own advice to travellers is to check traffic conditions at the land checkpoints before setting off, to observe lane discipline and traffic rules, and to "use QR codes for faster clearance" at the land checkpoints.
What ICA did not say, and why that matters
This is the part most write-ups skip, so it is worth being blunt about it. ICA's advisory contains:
- No lane count. It says "parts of the departure car zones", not a number of lanes or counters.
- No phase dates. There is no published schedule of which phase runs when, so there is no calendar you can plan a specific trip around.
- No mention of the arrival zones. The advisory names the departure car zones and the car counters. It does not say arrivals into Singapore are affected, and it does not promise they are not.
- No mention of motorcycles, buses or lorries. APCS for cars is what is being built here. Motorcycle, bus and cargo zones are not named in this advisory.
So the honest reading is: expect fewer departure car lanes at Tuas at unpredictable times between 1 September 2026 and late 2027, and treat any specific lane numbers you see elsewhere as unverified.
At a glance
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| What | Construction to convert manned car counters into automated (APCS) lanes |
| Where | Tuas Checkpoint, departure car zones (Singapore to Johor side) |
| From | 1 September 2026 |
| Until | Expected completion late 2027 |
| Closures | Parts of the departure car zones, in phases. No lane count or dates published |
| Vehicles named | Cars |
| ICA advice | Check traffic before you go, keep lane discipline, use QR clearance |
| Source | ICA official Facebook post, 26 August 2026 |
What you can actually do about it
1. Set up QR clearance before your next trip. This is ICA's own recommendation and it is the one thing fully within your control. QR clearance is generated in the MyICA app, and it is faster at the counter than handing over passports. Set it up at home, not in the queue.
2. Check the traffic before you leave the house. ICA publishes the live traffic situation at Woodlands and Tuas on its website, and it runs a CHECK-TIPS hotline on 6863 0117 for the real-time picture. Ten seconds of checking beats two hours in a queue.
3. Keep Woodlands in mind as the fallback. This advisory is specific to Tuas. If your destination in Johor works either way, Woodlands is the checkpoint that is not under car-lane construction from 1 September. Note that Woodlands has its own peak-hour crush, so this is a "check both, pick the lighter one" move rather than a guaranteed shortcut.
4. Or skip the car entirely. For a day trip, the cross-border buses and the rail shuttle sidestep the car zones completely, because they clear through different halls.
5. Shift your timing. Friday evenings, Saturday mornings, the eve of a long weekend and the school-holiday peaks are the worst windows on a normal day. With fewer departure car lanes in play, those same windows get worse rather than better. The works span the November-December school holidays and the whole of 2027's festive travel season.
The upside, eventually
The reason for the disruption is worth stating, because the end state is genuinely better. APCS lets drivers and passengers clear immigration without getting out of the car: a QR code scanned at the lane plus facial biometric verification, instead of winding down the window and passing passports to an officer. ICA has described the vehicle rollout as a world-first. Motorcyclists were slated first, with cars following and Tuas moving to automated clearance for all vehicles from early 2027.
In other words, the car counters being pulled out from 1 September are the thing that is being replaced, not merely renovated. The 15 months of phased closures buy a checkpoint that should move faster afterwards.
Before you go
Details can change during a project this long. Check ICA's own channels for the current position before you travel rather than relying on any roundup, this one included.
Related
- Singapore Goes 'Drive-Through Immigration': Tuas Checkpoint to Roll Out World-First Automated Car Clearance from 2027 covers the APCS system itself and the rollout timeline
- Causeway Link Goes Cashless at Queen Street and Newton for the cross-border bus option
- WTS9 Cross-Border Bus: Changi Airport to Johor Bahru if you are connecting from the airport
*Source: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority official Facebook post, 26 August 2026. Cover graphic by MissLobang; the lane diagram is illustrative, as ICA has not published a lane count.*
