MANILA — Portions of Marcos Highway will be closed to motorists starting this weekend due to the ongoing construction of the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) East Extension Project, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
Private contractor DMCI Holdings, Inc. will begin the construction of a coping beam at the Emerald Station in Cainta, Rizal on Sunday that would require the alternating closure of Marcos Highway’s westbound and eastbound lanes.
The 50-meter stretch of the westbound lane of Marcos Highway will be the first to be closed to traffic 11 p.m. Sunday to give way to the construction.
A zipper lane or counterflow scheme will be opened on the eastbound lane to accommodate vehicles going to Quezon City.
Contractors are only allowed to work on the project during night time when vehicular traffic is light, based on the agreed guidelines, said MMDA Acting General Manager Jojo Garcia.
The scheme would last until October this year.
The private contractor is allowed to work based on these schedules: Monday to Thursday, from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.; Friday, from 12 midnight to 5 a.m.; Saturday, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.; and Sunday, from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. Either the westbound or eastbound lane would be closed during the period.
Other construction activities include lifting of beam, concreting of coping beam, launch of girder, concreting of deck slab, and construction of stairs and conveying system.
The private contractor must coordinate with the MMDA should there be any movement or change in the agreed guidelines.
“We give our 100 percent support to the government’s Build, Build, Build program. We believe that coordination is the key to mitigate the traffic problems that this infrastructure project would cause,” Garcia said in a recent press briefing.
“Any single movement we need to know, with at least three-day notice,” he added.
MMDA traffic enforcers, private contractor’s flagmen and traffic enforcers of Pasig City, Marikina City, and Rizal province, will coordinate in managing traffic flow along the thoroughfare.
In October last year, the MMDA rerouted public utility jeepneys plying Marcos Highway that effectively eased congestion in the area.
Jeepneys going to Cainta and Antipolo in Rizal province were prohibited to load and unload passengers in front of two shopping malls along the highway.
Instead, jeepneys were made to enter an access road leading to a mall’s parking area where designated loading and unloading areas are located.
The LRT Line 2 East Extension Project involves the construction of a 4-km. extension of the existing system from Santolan, Pasig City to Masinag in Antipolo, Rizal.
Two additional stations will be built namely Emerald Station, which will be located in front of Robinsons Metro East and Sta. Lucia in Cainta, Rizal, and the Masinag Station to be located before the Masinag Junction in Antipolo City.
It is poised to reduce travel time from Masinag to Recto in Manila from three hours by 30 to 40 minutes.
It is expected to be completed by August but will only be operational by April 2019. (PNA)
