WORSE YET TO COME. Rush hour sees traffic almost at a standstill along Edsa near Guadalupe, Makati City. But Metro Manila residents are expecting even worse traffic nightmares as construction of the Skyway Stage 3 project starts this week, with completion seen in four years. LEO M. SABANGAN II
Alternative routes in Manila and Makati cities were suggested by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) as two of the five southbound lanes of Osmeña Highway were closed Monday night. The closure marks the start of the construction of the 14.8-km Skyway 3 project linking North and South Luzon Expressways.
The two inner southbound lanes of the highway connected to South Luzon Expressway will be closed from the corner of Zobel Roxas Avenue to San Andres Street, but the three outer southbound lanes and three northbound lanes will remain open.
The first stage of construction involves erecting posts on Osmeña Highway from the corner of San Andres Street, Manila, to Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati.
MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino estimated that with the closure of the two lanes on Osmeña Highway, travel on the road may slow down from 30 to 39 kilometers per hour, to 10 to 19 kph.
The MMDA suggested alternative routes to avoid the construction area:
If you’re coming from Quirino Avenue, take the following alternative routes to get to their destinations:
Turn left to Roxas Boulevard, right to Gil Puyat Avenue, left to Macapagal Boulevard, left to A. Mabini, go straight to FB Harrison Street, turn right to Edsa, turn left to Leon Guinto Street and go straight to P. Zamora Street.
If you’re coming from Pedro Gil, you areadvised to take the following alternative routes:
Turn right to Tejeron, go straight to JP Rizal to take Makati Avenue, or make a right at Chino Roces Avenue, or turn right to Onyx, left to Zobel Roxas, right to Kalayaan Avenue, then right to Chino Roces Avenue.
The NAIA Expressway II project was also scheduled to begin construction in Pasay City on Monday night. The projects are among the 15 major road works that will take place in Metro Manila for the next four years.
The MMDA has set up a website (MMRoadway.com) in which the public can learn about the 15 projects, the status of their construction and corresponding traffic advisories and alternate routes.
During the website’s launch last week, Tolentino said the contact information of the contractors and a feedback forum would be posted on the website soon. The complaints—and the contractors’ responses—will also be posted. A chart detailing the timetable of the infrastructure projects has already been posted on the website.
The website will be updated twice a week and contractors are expected to cooperate by providing correct information. The MMDA will also work on a mobile application, Tolentino added.
In last week’s traffic management summit organized by MMDA, contractors proposed that the construction be done 24/7, a move welcomed by Tolentino, who has been slammed by commentators for his failure to prepare well in advance for the anticipated monster traffic jams.
Tolentino has so far failed to get rid of “colorum” buses or enforce basic traffic rules.
With report by Jaymee T. Gamil
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