MANILA — The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge which connects Makati City and Mandaluyong City was reopened on Tuesday to motorists as its road works were deferred due to its impact on traffic with the onset of the holiday season, a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official said.
“Due to public clamor and apprehension of the business circle that the timing and closure will cause possible huge economic loss especially this coming holiday season, we are constrained to defer the implementation of the project and decided to proceed by first week of January 2019,” the DPWH project director Virgilio Castillo said in a letter dated Sept. 24 to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago said the Estrella-Pantaleon bridge was opened to motorists by the Makati Public Safety Department (MAPSA) at around 9:30 p.m. of Sept. 24. The MMDA was only informed on 5 a.m. of Sept. 25.
“So far literally speaking, wala pang construction na nangyayari, it is their discretion nag-coordinate naman daw sila sa DPWH. Siguro sa amin ma-inform lang kami for traffic management sa major thoroughfares and for public advisory (So far literally speaking there is no construction, that is their discretion and they coordinated with the DPWH. On our part, they should have informed us for traffic management on major thoroughfares and for public advisory),” Pialago said in a text message to reporters.
The project aims to widen the bridge to four lanes from the present two lanes and is expected to be completed by 2021.
MMDA figures show that around 100,000 vehicles traveling between Makati and Mandaluyong will be diverted to the Guadalupe Bridge, which would further worsen traffic congestion on Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (Edsa) once the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge is closed.
The bridge connects Estrella Street in Makati City and Barangka Drive in Mandaluyong City.
It is one of the two bridge projects on the Pasig River — the other being the Binondo-Intramuros span in Manila — that would be funded by China based on development assistance agreements with the Duterte administration. (Aerol John Pateña/PNA)
