The Malaysia-Singapore Second Link is a 1.9 kilometre dual-three lane bridge that connects Tuas in northwest Singapore to Tanjung Kupang in Gelang Patah located in southwest Johor. Officially opened on 18 April 1998, it is the second bridge across the Straits of Johor that links Singapore and Malaysia, the first being the Woodlands Causeway.
Background
Before the opening of the Second Link, the Woodlands Causeway was the only crossing linking Singapore and Malaysia. Officially opened in June 1924, the Causeway became increasingly congested during the post-independence years due to growing cross-strait traffic.1 Although it was widened in 1976 from a four- to six-lane carriageway, commuters and motorists continued to face congestion, especially during peak hours.2
To address the problem, Singapore and Malaysia agreed in 1980 to consider a second crossing.3 However, it was not until 1994 that both sides signed the official agreement to build it.4 The delay was caused by many factors such as the deliberation over its location and the type of crossing. In the end, it was decided that the new crossing would be located at its present site. Further, it would take the form of a bridge rather than a causeway. This is to allow small watercraft to ply the western half of the Straits of Johor.5
Second Link Agreement
The 1994 agreement to design, build and maintain the Second Link was signed on 22 March 1994 in Kuala Lumpur by Lim Hng Kiang (then Singapore’s Acting Minister for National Development), and Datuk Leo Moggie (then Malaysia’s Minister for Works).6 Under the terms of the agreement, each country was to undertake and finance its own portion of the bridge. This included hiring its own consultants to design its side of the bridge and contractors to carry out the construction work. As about 1.7 km of the proposed bridge would be in Malaysian waters, Malaysia would build the bulk of it. Singapore, on the other hand, would cover the remaining portion in its waters, which was about 170 m.7
Design
The Second Link is a high-level box-girder bridge with a dual three-lane carriageway that can handle a daily capacity of up to 200,000 vehicles.8 Weighing nearly 23,000 tonnes, the span of the bridge is supported by 26 piers, 23 of which are in Malaysian waters.9 There are also three navigational channels beneath the bridge for boats to pass through, two of which are in Malaysian waters. The first Malaysian channel, 75 m wide and 25 m high, is for bigger vessels, while the second channel, 50 m wide and 9 m high, is for smaller ones. The last channel, 75 m wide and 12 m high, is in Singapore waters.10
The Malaysian end of the crossing leads to the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex, which is the Malaysian immigration and quarantine centre. Thereafter, it connects to the North-South Highway and Johor Bahru via the 35-kilometre Second Link Expressway.11 On the Singapore side, the bridge is connected to Tuas Checkpoint and then the Ayer Rajah Expressway.12
Construction
Construction of the Malaysian side of the Second Link began in mid-199413 and was carried out in two phases. The first entailed the creation of two islands for the main piers of the bridge, while the second involved the construction of the main span.14 Malaysia’s Second Link project also included the construction of an immigration complex, and the development of an 11,000-hectare township in Gelang Patah, and the building of the Second Link Expressway.15
As for the Singapore side, construction of the Second Link started with the reclamation of about 20 ha of land off Tuas.16 The reclaimed land would house Singapore’s end of the Second Link and Tuas Checkpoint. Designed by consultants from the Public Works Department, construction of the two-level road system immigration complex started around May 1995, when reclamation was near completion.17 While the complex was being built, Singapore also commenced work on its portion of the Second Link.18
To build the three piers to support the main bridge on the Singapore side, offshore piles encased in steel casings had to be built first to hold up the piers. Further, checks on the site for each pile had to be conducted to detect cavities that would otherwise compromise the foundation. These checks were done by boring into the seabed.19 It was estimated that about 80 concrete segments, 45,000 cu m of concrete and 8,550 tonnes of steel were used to build the Singapore segment of the bridge.20
In July 1997, the construction of Second Link reached a critical milestone when the last slab of concrete was placed to connect both sides of the bridge.21 To mark the occasion, a topping-out ceremony was held on 31 July 1997. It was officiated by Singapore’s Minister for National Development Lim Hng Kiang and Malaysia’s Minister for Works S. Sammy Vellu.22 Thereafter, works on the final phase of the bridge, which involved completing the immigration complexes and installing railings, street lighting, road dividers and signposts, continued until it was opened to traffic on 2 January 1998.23
Cost
Singapore spent S$620 million on the Second Link project. The bulk of it, S$485 million, went into building the Tuas Checkpoint. The rest was spent on reclaiming the site for the checkpoint and constructing Singapore’s portion of the bridge, which cost S$84 million and S$51 million respectively.24 As for Malaysia, it spent some S$358 million on the project. More than half of it, about S$200 million, was spent on building the immigration complex, while the remaining was used for the construction of its portion of the bridge.25
Opening
The Second Link was opened to traffic at 10 am on 2 January 1998. Minutes after the barrier to the Tuas Checkpoint was removed, a queue comprising cars, motorcycles and heavy vehicles converged on the checkpoint causing a jam, which fizzled out about an hour later. On the Malaysian side, there were also congestions at different times of the day.26 The congestion on both sides was caused by curious motorists who wanted to experience driving across the new bridge, and heavy vehicles using the Second Link as an alternative to transport goods to Singapore.27
Following the January opening, a ceremony was held on 18 April 1998 to mark the official opening of the bridge. The event was attended by Goh Chok Tong (then Prime Minister of Singapore) and Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad (then Prime Minister of Malaysia). In their addresses, both leaders welcomed the completion of the bridge, and saw it as a symbol of cooperation and deep bilateral ties between Malaysia and Singapore.28
Toll charges
Singapore and Malaysia began collecting tolls from motorists using the Second Link on 17 March 1998.29 Tolls were levied on incoming and outgoing vehicles at Singapore’s Tuas Checkpoint and Malaysia’s Tanjung Kupang Toll Plaza, and the amount motorists would pay depends on the type of vehicle used.30
When they were first imposed, toll charges at the Second Link were considerably higher than those payable at Singapore’s Woodlands Causeway. For instance, heavy vehicles entering and leaving Singapore had to pay a toll of S$12 each way. At Woodlands Causeway, the rate was S$1.50 and applied to outbound traffic only. Similarly, cars, vans and small lorries were charged only S$1 for using the Causeway. But at the Second Link, the rate for cars was S$2.50 each way, while that for vans and small lorries was S$6.31 After entering Malaysia, motorists had to pay additional charges at the Tanjung Kupang Toll Plaza for using the Second Link Highway, the only road leading away from the bridge.32
The high toll charges caused the Second Link to be underutilised.33 To encourage more motorists to use the link, both sides have taken various measures over the years to reduce the charges. For instance, in 2010, both sides agreed to reduce the charges by 30 percent.34 This was followed by the implementation of off-peak toll rates in 2018 and the removal of toll charges for motorcycles in 2019.35
Author
Lim Tin Seng
References
1. Warren Fernandez, “Regional Crisis Draws S’pore, Malaysia Closer,” Straits Times, 19 April 1998, 1, 28; “Solving Those Causeway Traffic Jams,” New Nation, 26 January 1972, 6; “S’pore Offers to Share Causeway Project Cost,” Straits Times, 25 January 1972, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
2. G. Alphonso, et al. eds., The Causeway (Singapore: National Archives of Singapore, 2011), 138, 142–43 (Call no. RSING 388.132095957 CAU); “Taking Shape – the New S’pore-Johore Causeway,” Straits Times, 23 May 1976, 7; “‘Ease Appalling Causeway Jams’,” Straits Times, 4 December 1980, 16. (From NewspaperSG)
3. “Plan for Second Causeway or Bridge over Straits,” Straits Times, 14 May 1980, 1; “Johore gears Up for the 2nd Causeway,” Straits Times, 17 December 1980, 14; Felix Soh and Philip Lee, “Towards Even Closer Ties,” Straits Times, 14 May 1980, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
4. Zuraidah Ibrahim, “Second Link Accord Signed,” Straits Times, 23 March 1994, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
5. “Mahathir: Survey on to Look for Suitable Link Spot,” Straits Times, 19 August 1989, 3; “Second Causeway at Tuas?” Business Times, 16 March 1990, 1; Rav Dhaliwal, “Second Link Likely to Be Bridge,” Straits Times, 10 June 1988, 16; “KL Minister Confirms Bridge Link,” Straits Times, 11 June 1988, 12. (From NewspaperSG)
6. Ibrahim, “Second Link Accord Signed.”
7. T. Ranganayaki, “2nd Link a ‘Harmonious Fusion’,” New Paper, 8 July 1995, 20. (From NewspaperSG)
8. Walter Fernandez, “Built for 200,000 Vehicles,” Straits Times, 11 February 1998, 31. (From NewspaperSG)
9. Teo Hwee Nak, “Here’s Tuas, the Link’s on Track,” New Paper, 9 December 1996, 8. (From NewspaperSG)
10. Ibrahim, “Second Link Accord Signed”; Ranganayaki, “2nd Link a ‘Harmonious Fusion’.”
11. Siti Andrianie, “Customs Booths Will Not Be Fully Manned on Friday,” Straits Times, 31 December 1997, 17; Ibrahim, “Second Link Accord Signed.”
12. Andrianie, “Customs Booths Will Not Be Fully Manned”; “Ayer Rajah Expressway,” Land Transport Authority, accessed 26 October 2019.
13. “Work on Second Link 'to Start in Middle of the Year',” Straits Times, 28 March 1990, 18 (From NewspaperSG); Ibrahim, “Second Link Accord Signed”; “Ground-Breaking for Second Causeway,” Straits Times, 10 January 1995, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
14. “Minister Wants More Lanes on Second Link to S’pore,” Straits Times, 29 September 1995, 25; “First of a New Link,” Straits Times, 17 January 1996, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
15. Ibrahim, “Second Link Accord Signed”; “Origins of the Crossing,” Straits Times, 21 July 1995, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
16. Leong Chan Teik, “Double-Deck Checkpoint for Tuas,” Straits Times, 5 February 1995, 17. (From NewspaperSG)
17. Leong, “Double-Deck Checkpoint for Tuas”; Wong Kan Seng, “The Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony for Tuas Checkpoint,” speech, 15 May 1996, transcript, Ministry of Information and the Arts. (From National
Archives of Singapore document no. wks19960515s)
18. Teo Hwee Nak, “the Link’s on Track.”
19. Dominic Nathan, “Work on Second Link Going Smoothly,” Straits Times, 15 March 1996, 29. (From NewspaperSG)
20. “Linked – and a July 31 Date for PM, Mahathir,” Straits Times, 10 July 1997, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
21. “July 31 Date for PM, Mahathir.”
22. Abdul Hadhi, “Tuas Second Link Toll Charges Will Be Reasonable: Hng Kiang,” Straits Times, 1 August 1997, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
23. “July 31 Date for PM, Mahathir”; Leong Chan Teik, “Second Link at Tuas Opens Without Fanfare,” Straits Times, 3 January 1998, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
24. “Tuas Complex Added to the Cost,” Straits Times, 24 December 1997, 16. (From NewspaperSG)
25. “Tuas Complex Added to the Cost.”
26. Leong, “Second Link at Tuas Opens.”
27. Elaine Lo and Dorothy Ho, “Motorists Check Out New Link,” Straits Times, 3 January 1998, 30. (From NewspaperSG)
28. Fernandez, “Regional Crisis Draws S’pore, Malaysia Closer.”
29. Walter Fernandez, “Tolls Hit Second Link,” Straits Times, 26 March 1998, 31. (From NewspaperSG)
30. “Second Link and Causeway Tolls Start Today,” Straits Times, 17 March 1998, 2; “S’pore’s Second Link Tolls Same as KL’s,” Straits Times, 12 March 1998, 3; “Higher Causeway, Second Link Tolls,” Today, 22 February 2002, 4. (From NewspaperSG)
31. “Second Link Toll for Big Lorries Set at $12 Each Way,” Business Times, 12 March 1998, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
32. Walter Fernandez, “Highway Toll Fees Will Jack Up Total Second Link Charges,” Straits Times, 6 March 1998, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
33. Fernandez, “Built for 200,000 Vehicles.”
34. “S’pore to Cut Second Link’s Vehicle Toll Charges by 30%,” Business Times, 29 June 2010, 10. (From NewspaperSG)
35. “Off-Peak Toll Charges by S’pore at Second Link on April 1,” Today, 3 April 2018; Land Transport Authority, “Singapore to Match Malaysia Toll Removal for Motorcycles at Second Link from 21 January 2019,” news release, 21 January 2019.
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