Expect Heavy Traffic as Rockwell Bridge Nears 30-Month Closure

The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, which connects Estrella Street in Rockwell, Makati to Barangka Drive in Mandaluyong, will be closed for 30 months to make way for a new bridge.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Virgilio Castillo, project director of the roads management cluster under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), as saying that the bridge is tentatively set to be closed by September 20. However, the article noted that the date could still be changed depending on feedback from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

The Inquirer also said that the closure is seen to affect around 40,000 vehicles that pass through the bridge each day, which is much more than its expected daily capacity of 20,000. The closure will give way to the construction of a new bridge that will cost around Php1.2 billion. It will have four lanes and span over 500 meters. It is expected to be completed by 2020, which means that the bridge will be closed by around 30 months. 

This bridge project is one of the two announced last July by DPWH Secretary Mark Villar. Construction will be funded by grants from the People’s Republic of China. The other project, called the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, will cost Php4.2 billion and is also targeted to be completed by 2020.

Both bridges are part of the Metro Manila Logistics Improvement Network, which aims to build 12 new bridges around the region to help alleviate traffic.

UPDATE: Based on an article posted by Top Gear Philippines, the closure has been postponed to a later date as the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) met with Rockwell. "The target date for the beginning of the work is on September 26 or 29," the article states.

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Main photo: Florentino Floro / Wikimedia

Lorenzo Kyle Subido is a staff writer of Entrepreneur PH

This story originally appeared on Entrepreneur.com.ph.

* Minor edits have been made by the Realliving.com.ph editors.