Eco-Link@BKE

Until the Bukit Timah Expressway was built in 1986, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Central Catchment Nature Reserve were connected. The Bukit Timah Expressway severed the connection, leading to a number of negative impacts to the wildlife living in those reserves. Animals who tried to cross the expressway to get from one reserve to the other risked being killed by oncoming cars that often could not stop in time. For example, between 1994 and 2014, an average of two Sunda pangolins per year were accidentally killed in this manner. The Sunda pangolin is a critically endangered species within Singapore with possibly as few as 75 left in the country around the 2000s. The barrier to movement between the two reserves also inhibited seed dispersal, reducing plant biodiversity, and reduced the available space for animals such as the common palm civet to live in. Also, by isolating populations of animals it reduced the genetic diversity of each population. Eco-Link@BKE was intended to address these issues by creating a safe crossing between the reserves, and allowing expansion of the animals' habitats and gene pools. ==Construction==

Plans for an Eco-Link began in 1994, and was eventually announced in 2009. The bridge is covered with native vegetation, including trees and shrubs, which is intended to replicate a native forest ecosystem enticing to the animals. ==Usage==

to expand its range back into Bukit Timah. Since the Eco-Link was completed, several animals species have been seen using it to cross from one reserve to the other. These include the Sunda pangolin, the common palm civet, the long-tailed macaque, the slender squirrel, the glossy horseshoe bat, the lesser Asiatic yellow bat, the pouched tomb bat, the blue-eared kingfisher and the emerald dove. It was believed to have used the Eco-Link since before that the species had only been seen in Central Catchment. In 2021, a single langur was seen near Bukit Timah and might have used the Eco-Link to get there. Authorities also hope that the Malayan colugo and red-cheeked flying squirrel will begin using the Eco-Link once the trees mature. The walks continued through 2016 but were subsequently suspended to avoid potential disturbance to animals using the bridge. According to Singapore's Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, "It is reassuring that the bridge gives (animals) a better chance of survival, and, in fact, to flourish in this highly urbanised Singapore. Because Singapore is not just about concrete, or steel, or glass, or roads, or buildings, it is also about the green spaces that we work very hard and pro-actively to cherish, to protect, and more importantly, to enhance.” ==Successive bridges==

With the first Eco-Link deemed a success for Singaporean wildlife, the country has decided to build a second Eco-Link structure, known as the Mandai Wildlife Bridge, over Mandai Lake Road. Located close to the Singapore Zoo as well as being a part of the wider Mandai Wildlife Reserve, construction works commenced in June 2017, and the bridge opened on 6 December 2019. The bridge is also much longer at and connects the vegetated areas of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve on either side of the road. ==References==