MMDA: 10-minute ride may stretch up to an hour due to Rockwell Bridge closure

NO MORE DELAYS After two postponements, authorities are closing down Pantaleon-Estrella Bridge for rehabilitation starting this Saturday. —JAM STA ROSA

From a mere 10 minutes, the trip between the cities of Makati and Mandaluyong might soon take up to an hour with the closure of the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge starting on Jan. 19.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) gave this assessment as it prepared the traffic management plan for areas to be affected by the 30-month-long rehabilitation of the 9-year-old bridge.

More than 40,000 motorists are expected to be affected by the closure which had already been rescheduled twice — first in September 2018 and then on Jan. 12 this year — due to public clamor.

Isabel Agatep, 23, works in a public relations office on Metropolitan Avenue in Makati City. She said she usually takes the Guadalupe-Ilalim jeepney that passes through JP Rizal Avenue to get home.

With the closure of Estrella Street and the diversion of motorists to JP Rizal, she expects her travel time to “get much, much worse.”

The MMDA has identified alternative routes for those traveling between Makati and Mandaluyong.

Motorists can pass through the Makati-Mandaluyong Bridge near JP Rizal, which is also set for partial retrofitting soon, or they can take Edsa to get to the Guadalupe Cloverleaf near Guadalupe MRT 3 station.