Rockwell bridge to be closed on January 12
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Fri, 04 Jan 2019 03:49:10 +0000
THE Estrella Pantaleon bridge, which connects Mandaluyong City and Makati’s posh Rockwell area, will be closed on January 12 after a three-month postponement due to public clamor, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said on Friday.
In an advisory, the MMDA said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will close Estrella-Pantaleon or Rockwell Bridge at 8 a.m. on January 12 to pave the way for its demolition and reconstruction that was initially set last September 2018.
EDSA Traffic Chief Edison Nebrija said the seven-year-old bridge, where almost 100,000 vehicles pass daily, would affect several roads, including EDSA.
The DPWH first closed the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge for a few days in September to start construction works, but had to defer it to January due to the holidays.
“There were clamors regarding this last September. One from business circles saying it would have negative effects on the holiday economy and others were from transport groups,” Nebrija told the Manila Times in a phone call.
In a letter to the MMDA, Virgilio Castillo, project director of the bridge reconstruction, said the DPWH had to order the postponement of construction activities due to public clamor and pressure from business circles that would be affected by the project.
“[Due] to public clamor and apprehension of the business circle that the timing and closure will cause possible huge economic loss specially this coming holiday season, we are constrained to defer the implementation of the project,” Castillo said.
The DPWH wants to widen the bridge’s current two lanes to four and said the project will be completed in 2021. NEIL JAYSON N. SERVALLOS
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