A sliding tray unit for communication channel patching includes at least first and second horizontally adjacent sliding trays, with each tray including a platform with a bulkhead, with an area between the bulkhead and a front of the sliding tray being considered a trough. Lips are formed at forward edges of adjacent troughs. Each lip includes an indentation or hole. A bridging connector includes a gap formed between front and back walls. The lips fit into the gap. First and second projections formed on the back wall project into the gap and removably snap into the indentions/holes of the adjacent lips. The first and second sliding trays slide as a single unit with the bridging connector installed on both lips. The bridging connector may pivot about the engagement between a projection and its mating indentation/hole when the other projection is removed from its mating indentation/hole, so that the adjacent sliding trays may slide independently.