WORSE YET TO COME. Rush hour sees traffic almost at a standstill along Edsa near Guadalupe, Makati City. But Metro Manila residents are expecting even worse traffic nightmares as construction of the Skyway Stage 3 project starts this week, with completion seen in four years. LEO M. SABANGAN II
MANILA, Philippines—The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has suggested alternative routes in Manila and Makati cities following the closure of two of five southbound lanes of Osmeña Highway on Monday night at the start of the construction of the 14.8-kilometer Skyway project linking the north and south expressways.
The Department of Transportation and Communications was to begin erecting posts on Osmeña Highway from the corner of San Andres Street, Manila, to Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati.
The two inner southbound lanes of the highway connected to South Luzon Expressway will be closed from the corner of Zobel Roxas Avenue to San Andres Street, but the three outer southbound lanes and three northbound lanes will remain open.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino estimated that with the closure of the two lanes on Osmeña Highway, travel on the road may slow down from 30 to 39 kilometers per hour, to 10 to 19 kph.
To avoid the constricted traffic flow on the southbound route of Osmeña Highway, those coming from Quirino Avenue may take the following alternative routes to get to their destinations:
Turn left to Roxas Boulevard, right to Gil Puyat Avenue, left to Macapagal Boulevard, left to A. Mabini, go straight to FB Harrison Street, turn right to Edsa, turn left to Leon Guinto Street and go straight to P. Zamora Street.
Those coming from Pedro Gil are advised to take the following alternative routes:
Turn right to Tejeron, go straight to JP Rizal to take Makati Avenue, or make a right at Chino Roces Avenue, or turn right to Onyx, left to Zobel Roxas, right to Kalayaan Avenue, then right to Chino Roces Avenue.
The Department of Public Works and Highways was also set to begin construction on the Naia Expressway II project in Pasay City on Monday night.
Skyway Stage 3 and Naia Expressway II are the first of 15 major road projects in Metro Manila up for construction in the next four years.
The MMDA has set up a website (MMRoadway.com) in which the public can learn about the 15 projects, the status of their construction and corresponding traffic advisories and alternate routes.
A chart detailing the timetable of the infrastructure projects has already been posted there. During the website’s launch last week, Tolentino said the contact information of the contractors and a feedback forum would be posted on the website soon. The complaints—and the contractors’ responses—will also be posted.
The website will be updated twice a week and contractors are expected to cooperate by providing correct information. The MMDA will also work on a mobile application, Tolentino added.
In a traffic management summit last week, contractors proposed that the construction be done 24/7, a move welcomed by Tolentino, who has been slammed by commentators for his failure to prepare well in advance for the anticipated monster traffic jams.
Tolentino has so far failed to get rid of “colorum” buses or enforce basic traffic rules.
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