MANILA, Philippines – All four lanes of a “much better-looking” Buendia flyover are expected to reopen to traffic within the month following the completion of repair work on the 35-year-old structure, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson said Wednesday.
Singson told a Palace briefing that the Department of Public Works and Highways will reopen the southbound lanes of the Buendia flyover on July 14 and the northbound lanes on July 30.
Currently, only the northbound half of the overpass is open, with northbound vehicles taking one lane and southbound vehicles, the other. The current rehabilitation work on the structure, which was built in 1976, began on May 6.
“We just need five days of good weather and we should be able to finish the asphalt overlay on both lanes [of the Buendia flyover] within the month of July,” Singson told reporters. “The final opening, final completion [of the flyover] is scheduled on August 28.”
Despite the flyover’s age, Singson said DPWH engineers have found it to be “structurally sound” but it needed to be strengthened as it was old.
Aside from strengthening the structure of the bridge, the DPWH also scraped off 12 to 13 inches of asphalt laid on top of the flyover over the years. Two inches of new asphalt will be laid over the concrete structure “so you will have a very smooth ride on top of the flyover,” Singson said.
The flyover will have new lights and an improved “aesthethic,” Singon said.
“Hopefully, we’ll have a much better-looking bridge on that Buendia flyover once it is open,” he said.