Construction on the expressway commenced in 1983, with the first two phases completed by 1988. This section involved the widening of several existing roads along the way, such as Ayer Rajah Road and Upper Ayer Rajah Road, as well as the construction of what was then the longest road
viaduct, the Keppel Viaduct, from where the eastern end of the expressway commences. The road extends from Alexandra Road until Keppel Road. It ends at Teban Flyover along
Jurong Town Hall Road. With the construction beginning from 5 December 1993, the existing
Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim from
Tuas West Drive to Jurong Town Hall Road was widened and merged into Ayer Rajah Expressway which was opened on 18 November 1997. The expressway was extended to Tuas from Teban Flyover in conjunction with the opening of the Tuas Second Link to
Johor on 2 January 1998. This construction, which followed the alignment of Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim, involved the expansion of the existing road to match with the width of the rest of the AYE, construction of "filter" roads on both sides of the expressway (which eventually took the name of Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim), and the building of five flyovers and two underpasses. It meets up with the PIE at the Tuas Flyover. The eastern terminus of the AYE used to continue onto the western terminus of the East Coast Parkway (ECP). After the MCE was opened on 29 December 2013, the ECP was truncated and the MCE had taken over parts of the route, which connects AYE to the
Kallang–Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) and ECP. == Proposed realignment ==