P384B in infra projects to ease Metro traffic

The Duterte administration said some P384 billion worth of private and public infrastructure projects were being built until 2023 to ease road congestion in Metro Manila.

Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said a number of privately funded tollroads apart from road widening and bridge projects would be finished starting this year “to bring back Edsa to normal traffic flow level.”

The 23.8-kilometer Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (Edsa) is one of Metro Manila’s busiest roads and a symbol of urban congestion in the country.

“In close coordination with national government agencies, local government units and the private sector, we are pushing for the swift completion of our flagship infrastructure projects that will provide lasting solution to the gridlock in the National Capital Region,” Villar said.

He noted that the DPWH was ramping up right-of-way acquisition, a typical cause of delay for large infrastructure projects.

The biggest project to be completed this year is San Miguel Corp.’s Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3, which will open by the end of the first quarter. The 18.3-kilometer elevated expressway will cut travel time between Gil Puyat Ave. in Makati City and Balintawak in Quezon City to about 20 minutes from two hours.

Other tollroads set to open this year are Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s 2.6-km North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) Harbor Link R-10 exit ramp while another 8-km north-to-south Metro Manila elevated expressway will be finished by 2021.

Expressways to be completed over the next two years are San Miguel’s 33-km Southeast Metro Manila Expressway C-6 (phase 1), which will reduce travel time from Bicutan to Batasan from almost two hours to 26 minutes, and Metro Pacific’s 7.7-km C-5 South Link, linking R-1 to South Luzon Expressway/C5 via a 10-minute drive.

The DPWH plans to open the 440-meter Sta. Monica-Lawton bridge and the 565-meter Lawton Avenue-Global City viaduct projects this year. The projects are part of the Bonifacio Global City-Ortigas Center Link Road project, which aims to cut travel time between BGC and Ortigas to about 12 minutes.

Also set to begin construction this year is Metro Pacific’s 8.35-km NLEx Harbor Link Segment that will cut the travel time from Mindanao Avenue to Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City to about 10 minutes by 2022.

The DPWH likewise expects the completion of several bridge projects until 2023.

Poised to open next year are the 680-meter Binondo-Intramuros Bridge connecting Intramuros and Binondo and the 506-meter Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge linking Estrella in Makati City to Barangka Drive in Mandaluyong.

The 2.02-km North & South Harbor Bridge connecting north and south harbor, 438-meter Palanca-Villegas Bridge from A. Villegas to Carlos Palanca Streets, and the 929-meter Eastbank-Westbank Bridge 2 linking eastbank dike road and westbank dike road in Cainta, Rizal, will be finished by 2023, the DPWH said. INQ