Bukit Panjang residents in Senja estate now have an underground linkway connecting them to a third entrance at Bukit Panjang MRT station.

This comes after years of lobbying and delays in construction.

The new entrance - Entrance C - connects the station to a 100m-long underpass. This means residents no longer have to cross a busy junction in Bukit Panjang Road and Woodlands Road.

The linkway will serve as many as 50 housing blocks, or about 8,000 households, in the area.

The underpass entrance is a short walk from amenities and schools such as West View Primary School, Pacific Healthcare Nursing Home and Senja Soka Centre.

The underpass was opened by Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MPs Vivian Balakrishnan and Liang Eng Hwa, and Bukit Panjang MP Teo Ho Pin yesterday.

Only two entrances had initially been planned for Bukit Panjang MRT station.

The Land Transport Authority agreed to a third one in 2013 after lobbying by Holland-Bukit Timah GRC residents and MPs.

It was originally set to open in December 2016, but this was delayed due to construction constraints.

Mr Liang, who is also the grassroots adviser to the Zhenghua ward in the GRC, said: "(The underpass project) is absolutely necessary, not just for the convenience of first-and last-mile connectivities, but also to better distribute commuter flow during peak hours."

Lester Hio