Part of Bukit Brown is slated to make way for a new road in 2016. (AFP photo)
When plans to build a road through the Bukit Brown area were bared, civic society groups protested, calling for the area to be spared from the destruction of some 5,000 graves and for the fauna in the area to be preserved.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) responded to the call by announcing its latest plans to make a 670 metre-long bridge -- one third of the new road – over the site of the old cemetery there, reported various local media sources. This would reduce the number of exhumed graves to 3,746.
The LTA added that an “eco-linkage” under the bridge would be maintained so as to protect the existing wildlife and streams in the area. The construction of the 10m-high bridge would also help preserve part of the Bukit Brown cemetery, but it would come with its own drawbacks – the project would most likely cost up to three times more than what it would cost to build a normal road, said the reports.
The LTA also stressed the urgent need for the new road through Bukit Brown, stating that traffic demand would rise by up to 30 per cent by 2020. Construction of the eight-lane road will commence in 2013 and is slated for completion in 2016.
POLL
Is it worth spending the extra money to preserve only a part of the Bukit Brown cemetery and ecosystem?
- Definitely, we should do our utmost to protect the existing heritage and natural environment. (109)
- 59%
- I’m all for preserving the area, but that is spending too much of tax-payers’ money. (20)
- 11%
- Developing a better transport infrastructure should be a priority. Our roads are getting too crowded. (34)
- 18%
- I can’t decide. More roads are good for us, but I don’t really want to destroy nature either. (11)
- 6%
- I don’t care about this issue. (12)
- 6%
*back into the abyss of death*
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