Govt infra projects addressing traffic woes now also causing traffic

Marcos Bridge will be partly closed in the next four months.  INQUIRER PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

THE simultaneous implementation of some government “Build Build Build” infrastructure projects which intend to address the capital region’s worsening traffic problems are diverting vehicles to already clogged alternate routes, said a report published Monday in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

It cited the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) counts 16 roads and bridges in Metro Manila which are currently being affected by ongoing projects.

Sevilla Bridge, San Juan Bridge, Jacinto-Tomas Claudio Bridge and Araneta-Aurora Bridge have been closed to make way for the Skyway Stage 3 project while Marcos Bridge, Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, Binondo-Intramuros Bridge and Lawton Avenue-Santa Monica Bridge are under construction or rehabilitation.

Some roads in Quezon City have also been partially closed for the Metro Rail Transit 7 project. These are North Avenue, Elliptical Road near Quezon Memorial Circle, Commonwealth Avenue, Regalado Avenue, Mindanao Avenue and Quirino Highway. EDSA sees rehabilitation work on weekends, too, the Inquirer said.

It quoted MMDA traffic engineering director Neomie Recio as saying most of the affected bridges or roads are located in areas which were already considered chokepoints. In Manila and Quezon City, the alternate routes are mostly secondary roads too narrow to hold thousands of displaced vehicles. An alternate route for one project may also end up being used for another.

“We have been sorely left behind,” the Inquirer quoted Recio. “We have developed which is why people can afford cars. But the government did not modernize in terms of infrastructure, leaving us to play catch-up.”

While the MMDA understands the long-term benefits of the ongoing projects, it is increasingly worried about the seemingly unabated increase in vehicles in Metro Manila, the Inquirer said.