The Department of Public Works and Highways shared updates on several big-ticket projects designed to ease Metro Manila traffic on Wednesday. The updates were conveyed during the Bagong Pilipinas Town Hall Meeting on Traffic Concerns assembled by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
According to DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, the road and bridge projects are meant to alleviate the growing concern over the consistent traffic congestion in the metro. Bononan reiterated that the traffic congestion issues go deeper than superficial concerns, as traffic congestion in Metro Manila is seen as a major cause of economic losses in the country.
The big-ticket road projects are included in the current administration’s traffic decongestion solutions, which are part of the department’s key strategic infrastructure programs, or the “Build, Better, More” (BBM) program. These programs align with the Marcos Jr. administration’s 2023-2028 Philippine Development Plan. Projects included in the Build, Better, More program are part of the President’s 8-point socioeconomic agenda to reduce transport and logistics costs in the country.
“[the decongestion program] focuses on the improvement and expansion of the national road network by building more by-passes, diversion roads, expressways, flyovers, interchanges, and underpasses,” said Bonoan.
Build, Better, More Project Updates
Multiple infrastructure projects under the current administration’s Build, Better, More (BBM) program are underway. Some are still in the development phase, while others are approaching their completion date.
Builder More Roads
One of the BBM program’s most prolific road infrastructure projects is the 18-kilometer Metro Manila Skyway. During the town hall meeting, Bonoan announced that the skyway project is already well underway on Stage 3. Once completed, the elevated expressway will reduce the travel time from Buendia to Balintawak from 2 hours to just 15 to 20 minutes.
Another project is the 7.7-kilometer North Luzon ExpressWay-South Luzon Expressway (NLEX-SLEX) Connector Road, which is also a big-ticket elevated expressway project under the BBM program. The NLEX-SLEX Connector Road will follow the track of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) rails that stretch from Caloocan to Plaza Dilao in Manila. According to Bonoan, the project is already at 95% completion and has three interchanges located on C3 Road/5th Avenue in Caloocan and España and Magsaysay Boulevard in Manila.
Once completed, the 2-hour travel time from SLEX to NLEX will be reduced to just 20 minutes.
Building More Bridges
Among the many road infrastructure projects included in the Build, Better, More project are the construction of new bridges and the rehabilitation of pre-existing ones. A few other bridge projects include extending the infrastructure.
Included in the decongestion program are the construction of six new bridges that will cross the Pasig River and Manggahan Floodway. These bridges are meant to provide an alternative way between major routes in the metropolitan area. The increase in alternative routes is predicted to reduce the constant traffic congestion in Metro Manila. So far, three of the six bridges have been completed, namely the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, the Bonifacio Global City-Ortigas Center Link Road Project, and the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge.
Bonoan announced that the design and build contracts for the other three bridges are ongoing and will begin construction this year.
The Guadalupe and Lambingan bridges are among the bridge rehabilitation and replacement projects. Both are under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-funded Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement Project, designed to ensure the safety of thousands of motorists who traverse the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), Guadalupe Bridge, and Lambingan Bridge daily.
References
GMA News. (n.d.). DPWH bares infra projects aimed at easing Metro Manila traffic. GMA News. Retrieved April 11, 2024, from https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/903220/dpwh-bares-infra-projects-aimed-at-easing-metro-manila-traffic/story/
PNA. (n.d.). DPWH: New roads, bridges to ease Metro Manila traffic. PNA. Retrieved April 11, 2024, from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1222378
