Bridge repair to worsen traffic on Sucat Road

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MANILA, Philippines – Residents of Parañaque City have been warned of heavier traffic on Sucat Road, also called Dr. A. Santos Avenue, starting this weekend as the 45-day repair and rehabilitation of the Sucat Interchange Bridge gets under way.

The Department of Public Works and Highways said that it will be closing the east-bound lane of the bridge starting Saturday until Sept. 15.

In a letter to Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez, DPWH district engineer Wilfredo Mallari said the agency would conduct a dry run on Wednesday and close the east-bound lane of the bridge from Dr. A. Santos Avenue to the Muntinlupa side of the bridge. The bridge repair and road closure is expected to affect the entire stretch of Dr. A. Santos, which can be really bad even on ordinary days, as well as the East and West Service Roads of the South Luzon Expressway in both Parañaque and Muntinlupa.

Olivarez, in a statement, said that the city’s Traffic Management Office would also study and propose alternative routes for motorists and commuters who will be affected by the repair.

“We will also look into the possibility of imposing a truck ban and the possible implementation of a color coding scheme to reduce traffic volume in the affected routes to ease the burden on our commuters and motorists during the duration of the bridge repair,” Olivarez added.

The Parañaque mayor said he was hoping that the DPWH and the traffic management personnel of the Skyway Operations and Maintenance Corp., which has jurisdiction over the affected interchange, will be able to carry out the bridge repair within the allotted time frame.

“We do not want our residents and commuters to be burdened further,” Olivarez added.

The list of alternate routes is expected to be released by the city government before the start of the repair this weekend.