The civil work contractor of the Estrella Pantaleon Bridge Project of the Department of Public Works and Highways is all set to begin construction on Saturday, January 19, 2019..
DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar, Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain of the Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations and Technical Services, and Project Director Virgilio L. Castillo of UPMO Roads Management Cluster 1 witnessed in an inspection on January 12 the ground preparations of contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation which are well underway with the mobilization of crane equipment needed for the demolition of existing two (2)-lanes modular steel bridge.
Signages around the vicinity of the project are also posted in close coordination with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the local city government of Makati and Mandaluyong which will also extend assistance in the traffic management.
The construction of a new four (4) lanes bridge will make way for increase carrying capacity that will better serve the progressive cities of Makati and Mandaluyong and other motorists using Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge as alternative route and for service sustainability that will enable the structure to cope with extreme event such as high intensity earthquake or “The Big One” that may occur anytime as announced by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOCS).
Undersecretary Sadain said that the government thru DPWH have to act the exponential growth of vehicles in Metro Manila and take the significant but necessary step of closing for demolition and reconstruction because of safety concerns since the existing bridge was originally constructed to cater local traffic of Makati/Mandaluyong with designed capacity of 22,000 vehicles.
As the bridge has continued to age since its opening back in 2011, the number of motorists using the modular steel bridge connection increased rapidly owing to the mixed-use development projects in the Rockwell area and Mandaluyong’s booming residential projects at the Pasig River’s south bank and north bank, respectively, added Undersecretary Sadain.
With two (2) lanes traffic in both direction, the new Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge effectively will double the capacity of the current outgoing structure which has an average daily traffic of 25,000 to as high as 30,000 vehicles per day based on DPWH traffic count surveys.
Until the replacement bridge is built, two (2) bridge connections between Makati and Mandaluyong Cities are available namely Makati-Mandaluyong Bridge connecting Makati Avenue to Mandaluyong and Guadalupe Bridge of EDSA. The MMDA will strictly enforce campaign against illegal parking to clear the alternate routes.
The construction of the new 560 lineal meters bridge structure in the amount of P1.47 Billion under China-grant financing features a 3-meters sidewalks as compared to existing 0.6 meters on both sides for pedestrian safety and an iconic design that will soon be a landmark bridge in the Philippines.
It is expected to take about two-and-a-half years or 30 months to build the replacement bridge.
Meanwhile, the dismantled modular steel component of the old bridge can be use in the construction of bridge link in the provinces where vehicular volume is much lesser, said Undersecretary Sadain.