It will be large enough to accommodate some of the elephant herds that call the forest home.
The Kuantan Tunnel being built at the ECRL project site. — Bernama
At 5.3m high and 6m wide, the culverts in Kemasul Forest Reserve were designed to allow elephants to cross under the ECRL's tracks safely. This is the completed Kuantan Tunnel. — Bernama The project’s Wildlife Management Plan was formulated through collaboration between the project’s main contractor, China Communications Construction Sdn Bhd , and the Wildlife and National Parks Department . It proposes 27 wildlife crossings, 11 of which will be in the Kemasul Forest Reserve.
“All the crossings in Kemasul are expected to be completed by the end of this year,” he said, adding that less than 40ha of the Kemasul forest reserve was used for the crossings and the rail line. Apart from elephants, tapirs and sun bears are also expected to use the animal crossings, as determined by wildlife surveys carried on what animals inhabit the area. — Bernama
However, Norhasrul explained during his press briefing that the project has taken environmental safeguards into consideration with design modifications along its alignment. “I would recommend some monitoring studies,” says Dr Wong Ee Phin, principal investigator with Malaysian Elephant Management Ecology when we ask her about the efficacy of wildlife crossings.
Wong believes that, nowadays, engineers are more aware of wildlife ecology and take this into consideration during construction of infrastructure. “In reviewing various studies from around the world, we conclude that wide overpasses continue to present ecologically sound and cost-effective solutions for decreasing the barrier of roadways,” say the authors of the 2022 study.
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