5 minutes Cubao to Makati? Possible, says DPWH’s Villar

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TAKING only five minutes to travel from Cubao, Quezon City to Makati City, via EDSA, is possible when several infrastructure projects in Metro Manila are completed, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Monday.

The Philippine News Agency (PNA) in a report posted on its website Monday quoted DPWH secretary Mark Villar as saying 250,000 to 300,000 vehicles are expected to decongest EDSA once the major projects are completed by the end of the year.

“When the President ran, he promised he would finish traffic on EDSA. In order for us to do that, we computed and we needed to take out 250,000 to 300,000 vehicles a day,” he said on the sidelines of the Pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) Economic and Infrastructure Forum held in Pasay City, according to the PNA report..

“To revert to a level of traffic, when we finish the Skyway Project it will reduce traffic by 100,000 vehicles. When the NLEX [North Luzon Expressway] Harbor Link connector is completed it will minimize 50,000 vehicles. When C-6 is finished we reduce another 50,000,” Villar said, adding the completion of other bridges surrounding EDSA will lessen 50,000 vehicles more.

“Some projects directly affect EDSA. But overall, we expect that the President’s statements are backed by very solid projects,” PNA quoted the DPWH chief as saying.

Duterte in June said in a televised interview that travel time between Cubao and Makati could be reduced to five minutes by the end of the year. The current travel time is around one hour. The President did not specify which points in Cubao and Makati he was referring to.

The PNA report said Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 is an 18.68-kilometer elevated expressway from Buendia, Makati City to NLEX in Balintawak, Quezon City. The portion along President Quirino Avenue in Manila will open this year.

The 5.58-kilometer NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 connecting McArthur Highway and C-3 opened to traffic on March 1.

The C-5 South Link Expressway is a 7.7-kilometer expressway stretching from R-1 Expressway to SLEX/C5. When completed it will reduce travel time from 40 minutes to 10 minutes. Segment 3A1, or Merville to C5/SLEX, is targeted to be opened on July 22, the PNA said.