Construction at BKE will begin next year
Goh Chin Lian Straits Times 11 Dec 10;
THE delayed eco-link bridge linking two nature reserves across the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) is a step closer to being built.
Local construction firm Eng Lee Engineering pipped six other bidders, including Japanese contractor Sato Kogyo, to win the contract last month.
The bridge will be built for $11.8 million, the second-lowest bid submitted.
Eng Lee has experience in building vehicular bridges, MRT viaducts and other road projects. Its track record includes bridges at Thomson, Braddell and Lornie roads, at Marina Bayfront and across a waterway in Punggol. It also worked on the Boon Lay MRT extension and Marina Coastal Expressway.
The 50m-wide green bridge is designed for animals to move between Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Central Catchment area, and for plants to be dispersed. Both areas were separated by the BKE when the highway was built in 1986. They are currently linked by a concrete bridge which is part of Rifle Range Road.
The bridge will be situated about 600m north of Rifle Range Road, between the Pan-Island Expressway and Dairy Farm exits.
Native trees and shrubs will be planted along the bridge for creatures to colonise. A hiking trail on it will let people move between the two nature reserves.
The new bridge should address concerns by conservationists about the potential loss of genetic diversity, as animal species such as the rare banded leaf monkey on one side of the BKE are cut off from their own kind on the other side.
A loss of diversity could threaten the survival of the two fragmented forests.
When plans to build the bridge were announced in September last year, it was said construction would start this year. The new start date is the second quarter of next year.
Eng Lee has six months to come up with a final design, and two years and nine months to build the bridge.
Measures have been drawn up to protect the natural setting during construction. Tree species like Senegal mahogany, and fruit trees like the jambu and durian will be retained.
The case for eco-passages was also made by the Nature Society (Singapore) when it submitted a proposal on Oct 21 to the authorities to retain the 40km stretch of Malayan Railway land as a green corridor.
Giant tree ferns and rare birds like the Buffy Fish Owl have been seen there, along with fruit and vegetable farms, mangroves and mudflats, said a report published on the society's website.
It suggested providing walking trails and a cycling route linking homes in the north and west - in areas like Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang - to the city in the south, as well as to places like the Botanic Gardens, One North Park and the Southern Ridges. These green links would feed into the growing network of park connectors.
The report pointed to the value of Singapore's natural and man-made heritage in nation building and sustainable development.
It warned that while attempts like the eco-link bridge are being made to restore some heritage at great expense, much of the heritage has been irretrievably lost in the rush to transform Singapore from Third World to First.
On preserving the railway land for nature, Mr Leong Kwok Peng, vice-president of the Nature Society (Singapore), said: 'It's a ready-made nature corridor. It's the chance of a lifetime not to be missed.'
